Objectives: There is emerging evidence that high-frequency (HF) repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) may promote weight loss in individuals with obesity in the general population. However, no study has been conducted on patients with schizophrenia (SZ). This study evaluated the efficacy of 10Hz rTMS in reducing body weight in patients with chronic SZ. Methods: Forty-seven SZ patients were randomly assigned to two groups: 10Hz rTMS or sham stimulation over DLPFC (applied once daily) for 20 consecutive treatments. Body weight was assessed at baseline, at the end of week 1, week 2, week 3 and week 4. Clinical symptoms were evaluated with the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) at baseline and at the end of week 4. Results: We found that compared with patients in the sham group, 10Hz rTMS treatment significantly reduced body weight in patients with chronic SZ after a period of 4 weeks of stimulation. Interestingly, further analysis found that from the first week (5 sessions) of treatment, there was a significant difference in body weight between active and sham groups after controlling for baseline weight. However, active rTMS treatment did not improve the psychotic symptoms compared to sham stimulation. Conclusion: Our results suggest that add-on HF rTMS could be an effective therapeutic strategy for body weight control in patients with chronic SZ.

中文翻译：

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重复经颅磁刺激对慢性精神分裂症患者减肥的影响：一项随机、双盲对照 4 周研究

目的：越来越多的证据表明，高频（HF）重复经颅磁刺激（rTMS）可能会促进普通人群中肥胖者的体重减轻。然而，尚未对精神分裂症（SZ）患者进行研究。本研究评估了 10Hz rTMS 在减轻慢性精神分裂症患者体重方面的功效。方法：47 名 SZ 患者被随机分为两组：10Hz rTMS 或 DLPFC 假刺激（每天一次），连续 20 次治疗。在基线、第 1 周、第 2 周、第 3 周和第 4 周结束时评估体重。在基线和第 4 周结束时使用阳性和阴性综合征量表 (PANSS) 评估临床症状。结果：我们研究发现，与假手术组的患者相比，10Hz rTMS 治疗在刺激 4 周后，慢性 SZ 患者的体重显着减轻。有趣的是，进一步分析发现，从治疗第一周（5个疗程）开始，在控制基线体重后，活动组和假组之间的体重存在显着差异。然而，与假刺激相比，主动 rTMS 治疗并没有改善精神病症状。结论：我们的结果表明，附加 HF rTMS 可能是控制慢性 SZ 患者体重的有效治疗策略。