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. 2023 Feb 28;13(3):449.
doi: 10.3390/jpm13030449.

Comparison of Efficacy and Safety of Magnetic Seizure Therapy and Electroconvulsive Therapy for Depression: A Systematic Review

Dong-Bin Cai  1 , Xin-Hu Yang  2 , Zhan-Ming Shi  3 , Sha Nie  2 , Rui Xu  2 , Xiu-De Qin  1 , Xiong Huang  2 , Xing-Bing Huang  2 , Wei Zheng  2
Affiliations

Comparison of Efficacy and Safety of Magnetic Seizure Therapy and Electroconvulsive Therapy for Depression: A Systematic Review

Dong-Bin Cai et al. J Pers Med. .

Abstract

Objectives: As a new physical therapeutic technique, magnetic seizure therapy (MST) has established efficacy in the treatment of depression with few cognitive side effects, and thus appears to be a potential alternative to electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). The findings of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) examining the efficacy and safety of MST versus ECT for depression are inconsistent. This systematic review of RCTs was designed with the aim of assessing the safety and efficacy of MST versus ECT for patients with depression.

Methods: The WanFang, Chinese Journal Net (CNKI), EMBASE, PubMed, Cochrane Library, and PsycINFO databases were systematically searched by three independent investigators, from their inceptions to July 24, 2021.

Results: In total, four RCTs (n = 86) were included and analyzed. Meta-analyses of study-defined response (risk ratio (RR) = 1.36; 95% CI = 0.78 to 2.36; p = 0.28; I2 = 0%), study-defined remission (RR = 1.17; 95% CI = 0.61 to 2.23; p = 0.64; I2 = 0%), and the improvement in depressive symptoms (standardized mean difference (SMD) = 0.21; 95% CI = -0.29 to 0.71; p = 0.42; I2 = 0%) did not present significant differences between MST and ECT. Three RCTs evaluated the cognitive effects of MST compared with ECT using different cognitive measuring tools, but with mixed findings. Only two RCTs reported adverse drug reactions (ADRs), but these lacked specific data. Only one RCT reported discontinuation due to any reason.

Conclusions: This preliminary study suggests that MST appears to have a similar antidepressant effect as ECT for depression, but mixed findings on adverse cognitive effects were reported.

Keywords: depression; efficacy; electroconvulsive therapy; magnetic seizure therapy; systematic review.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest in conducting this study or preparing the manuscript.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
PRISMA flow diagram.
Figure 2
Figure 2
MST versus ECT for depression: forest plot for study-design response and remission [15,16,18].
Figure 3
Figure 3
MST versus ECT for depression: forest plot for the improvement of depressive symptoms as measured by the HAMD. Abbreviations: ECT = electroconvulsive therapy; HAMD = Hamilton Depression Scale; MST = magnetic seizure therapy [15,16,18].
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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