Markser Anna, Vöckel Jasper, Schneider Alexa, Baumeister-Lingens Luise, Sigrist Christine, Koenig Julian
University of Cologne, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, Cologne, Germany.
University of Cologne, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, Cologne, Germany.
Am J Med. 2025 Apr;138(4):681-697. doi: 10.1016/j.amjmed.2024.07.007. Epub 2024 Jul 30.
Alongside the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic, the number of patients with persistent symptoms following acute infection with SARS-CoV-2 is of concern. It is estimated that at least 65 million people worldwide meet criteria for what the World Health Organization (WHO) defines as "post-COVID-19 condition" - a multisystem disease comprising a wide range of symptoms. Effective treatments are lacking. In the present review, we aim to summarize the current evidence for the effectiveness of non-invasive or minimally invasive brain stimulation techniques in reducing symptoms of post-COVID-19.
After pre-registration with PROSPERO, the review was conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Guidelines (PRISMA). The four electronic databases PubMed/MEDLINE, PsycINFO, Web of Science and Scopus were systematically searched for all relevant studies through April 2nd, 2024. Two independent investigators selected empirical papers that reported on the application of non- or minimally invasive brain stimulation in patients with post-COVID-19 conditions.
A total of 19 studies were identified, one using transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation (tVNS), another using transorbital alternating current stimulation (toACS), 6 studies on transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and 11 studies on transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) for the treatment of post-COVID-19 symptoms.
Existing studies report first promising results, illustrating improvement in clinical outcome parameters. Yet, the mechanistic understanding of post-COVID-19 and how brain stimulation techniques may be benefitial are limited. Directions for future research in the field are discussed.
在严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒2（SARS-CoV-2）大流行期间，SARS-CoV-2急性感染后出现持续症状的患者数量令人担忧。据估计，全球至少有6500万人符合世界卫生组织（WHO）定义的“新冠后状况”标准——这是一种包含多种症状的多系统疾病。目前缺乏有效的治疗方法。在本综述中，我们旨在总结非侵入性或微创脑刺激技术在减轻新冠后症状方面有效性的现有证据。
在向国际前瞻性系统评价注册库（PROSPERO）预注册后，本综述按照系统评价和Meta分析的首选报告项目（PRISMA）指南进行。通过系统检索PubMed/MEDLINE、PsycINFO、科学引文索引（Web of Science）和Scopus这四个电子数据库，查找截至2024年4月2日的所有相关研究。两名独立研究者筛选了报告非侵入性或微创脑刺激在新冠后状况患者中应用情况的实证论文。
共纳入19项研究，其中1项使用经皮迷走神经刺激（tVNS），1项使用经眶交流电刺激（toACS），6项关于经颅磁刺激（TMS），11项关于经颅直流电刺激（tDCS）用于治疗新冠后症状。
现有研究报告了初步的 promising 结果，表明临床结局参数有所改善。然而，对新冠后状况的机制理解以及脑刺激技术可能如何有益尚有限。讨论了该领域未来的研究方向。 （注：“promising”原文拼写有误，应为“promising”，译为“有前景的” ）
