• Iuri Santana Neville, Ana Luiza Zaninotto, Cintya Yukie Hayashi, Priscila Aparecida Rodrigues, Ricardo Galhardoni, Daniel Ciampi de Andrade, Andre Russowsky Brunoni, Robson L Oliveira Amorim, Manoel Jacobsen Teixeira, and Wellingson Silva Paiva.
• From the Division of Neurosurgery/LIM-62 (I.S.N., A.L.Z., C.Y.H., P.A.R., R.G., D.C.d.A., R.L.O.A., M.J.T., W.S.P.) and Department of Psychiatry, Instituto de Psiquiatria (A.R.B.), Hospital das Clinicas HCFMUSP, Faculdade de Medicina, and Service of Interdisciplinary Neuromodulation (I.S.N., C.Y.H., R.G., D.C.d.A., A.R.B., M.J.T., W.S.P.), Universidade de Sao Paulo, Brazil; Neuromodulation Center (A.L.Z.), Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA; School of Medicine (R.G.), Universidade da Cidade de Sao Paulo UNICID, Sao Paulo; and Department of Neurology (R.L.O.A.), Universidade Federal do Amazonas, Manaus, Brazil. iuri.neville@hc.fm.usp.br.
• Neurology. 2019 Jul 9; 93 (2): e190-e199.

ObjectiveTo determine whether high-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) improves cognition in patients with severe traumatic brain injury.MethodsA single-center, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of rTMS was conducted in patients aged 18-60 years with chronic (>12 months postinjury) diffuse axonal injury (DAI). Patients were randomized to either a sham or real group in a 1:1 ratio. A 10-session rTMS protocol was used with 10-Hz stimulation over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). Neuropsychological assessments were performed at 3 time points: at baseline, after the 10th rTMS session, and 90 days after intervention. The primary outcome was change in executive function evaluated using the Trail Making Test Part B.ResultsThirty patients with chronic DAI met the study criteria. Between-group comparisons of performance on TMT Part B at baseline and after the 10th rTMS session did not differ between groups (p = 0.680 and p = 0.341, respectively). No significant differences were observed on other neuropsychological tests. No differences in adverse events between treatment groups were observed.ConclusionsCognitive function in individuals with chronic DAI is not improved by high-frequency rTMS over the left DLPFC, though it appears safe and well-tolerated in this population.Clinicaltrialsgov IdentifierNCT02167971.Classification Of EvidenceThis study provides Class II evidence that for individuals with chronic DAI, high-frequency rTMS over the left DLPFC does not significantly improve cognition.Copyright © 2019 The Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. on behalf of the American Academy of Neurology.

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