Cortical plasticity is correlated with cognitive improvement in Alzheimer’s disease patients after rTMS treatment

ObjectiveRepetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) has been widely used in non-invasive treatments for different neurological disorders. Few biomarkers are available treatment response prediction. This study aims to analyze the correlation between changes long-term potentiation (LTP)-like cortical plasticity and cognitive function patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) that underwent rTMS treatment.MethodsA total of 75 AD were randomized into either 20 Hz at dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) group (n = 37) or a sham 38) 30 sessions over six weeks (five days per week) three-month follow-up. Neuropsychological assessments conducted using Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) Disease Assessment-Cognitive Component (ADAS-Cog). The reflected by motor-evoked potential (MEP) before after high-frequency repetitive TMS primary motor (M1) was also examined prior period.ResultsThe results showed ability who MMSE ADAS-Cog small but significant improvement compared group. correlated observed cognition change.ConclusionsCortical LTP-like could predict responses improvements receiving intervention. warrants future clinical trials LTP as predictive marker.