Non-invasive brain stimulation for treatment-resistant schizophrenia
The project is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) (01KG2206).
Antipsychotic drugs are the mainstay treatment of schizophrenia, but a substantial number of patients meet the criteria for treatment-resistant schizophrenia and do not sufficiently respond to antipsychotics, including clozapine. In such cases, non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS) techniques, such as electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), and transcranial electric stimulation (tES), can be promising treatment options. However, the evidence regarding the efficacy and safety of NIBS for treatment-resistant schizophrenia is currently inconclusive.
To overcome these limitations and better inform evidence-based management, we will conduct a network meta-analysis (NMA) to jointly analyze all available clinical trials that investigated NIBS techniques for treatment-resistant schizophrenia.
A study protocol was pre-registered with PROSPERO (CRD42023410645) and published in a peer-reviewed journal.
Conduct of the project: Yaohui Wei; Contact: yaohui.wei@tum.de
Supervision: Professor Stefan Leucht