• Xiaoli Liu, Xiwen Zhao, Ting Liu, Qingming Liu, Li Tang, Hui Zhang, Wenbo Luo, Zafiris J Daskalakis, and Ti-Fei Yuan.
• Shanghai Key Laboratory of Psychotic Disorders, Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China; School of Psychology, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China; Co-innovation Center of Neuroregeneration, Nantong University, Nantong, Jiangsu, China; Ningbo Key Laboratory of Sleep Medicine, Ningbo Kangning Hospital, Ningbo, Zhejiang, China.
• EBioMedicine. 2020 Jun 1; 56: 102809.

BackgroundCraving is a central feature of addiction. Early evidence suggests that repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation is effective in reducing cue induced craving for patients with opioid use disorder (OUD). However, trials in large populations of patients with OUDs are lacking.MethodsWe randomly assigned 118 male heroin patients into three groups (i.e., 10 Hz rTMS, 1 Hz rTMS and a wait-list control group) from two addiction rehabilitation centers. rTMS was applied to the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) for 20 daily consecutive sessions.FindingsResults showed that 10 Hz rTMS and 1 Hz rTMS were both effective in reducing cue-induced craving scores in heroin users when compared to the wait list group. The treatment effects lasted for up to 60 days after rTMS treatment cessation.InterpretationOur results suggest that rTMS applied to the DLPFC is effective in reducing craving severity in heroin use disorder patients. Our results also suggest that such treatment effects can last for up to 60 days after treatment cessation.Copyright © 2020 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

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