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Effects of a combined transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and cognitive training intervention in patients with Alzheimer's disease
Sabbagh M, Sadowsky C, Tousi B, Agronin ME, Alva G, Armon C, Bernick C, Keegan AP et al.. Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association, 2020-01-16
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
Introduction This clinical trial evaluates the efficacy and safety of a 6-week course of daily neuroAD™ therapy. Methods 131 subjects between 60 and 90 years old, unmedicated for Alzheimer's disease (AD), or on stable doses of an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor and/or memantine, with Mini-Mental State Examination scores between 18 and 26, clinical dementia rating scale scores of 1 or 2, enrolled for a prospective, randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled, multicenter clinical trial. Structural brain MRIs were obtained for transcranial magnetic stimulation targeting.
Key findings
- Methods 131 subjects between 60 and 90 years old, unmedicated for Alzheimer's disease (AD), or on stable doses of an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor and/or memantine, with Mini-Mental State Examination scores between 18 and 26, clinical dementia rating scale scores of 1 or 2, enrolled for a prospective, randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled, multicenter clinical trial.
- Structural brain MRIs were obtained for transcranial magnetic stimulation targeting.
- Baseline Alzheimer's disease assessment scale-cognitive (ADAS-Cog) and Clinical Global Impression of Change were assessed. 129 participants were randomized to active treatment plus standard of care (SOC) or sham treatments plus SOC.
- Results Subjects with baseline ADAS-Cog ≤ 30 (~85% of study population) showed a statistically significant benefit favoring active over sham.
Why it matters
This randomized, sham-controlled trial tested a 6-week course of combined transcranial magnetic stimulation and cognitive training in 131 patients with Alzheimer's disease. It evaluates one treatment approach but does not establish a cure or prevention.
Study details
- Participants131
- Effect size31.7%; 15.4%
- Evidence strengthHigh
How this study scored 77/100
Published in a leading specialty journal, and it is a randomised controlled trial.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 9 / 10 | Tier 2 — leading specialty journal (Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association) |
| Journal's citation record | 2 / 4 | Alzheimer s & Dementia: journal h-index 228 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 11 / 12 | A randomised controlled trial (from PubMed type “Randomized Controlled Trial”) |
| Strength of evidence | 5 / 5 | Rated “high” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 2 / 5 | 2020 — within 10 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 2 / 4 | 131 participants |
| Effect reported | 2 / 3 | Effect reported as a number, without an interval or test |
| Studied in people | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (participant count stated) |
| Randomised / blinded | 2 / 2 | Randomised and blinded or placebo-controlled (as stated in the record) |
| Times cited | 5 / 7 | Cited 168 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 4 / 5 | 21.0 citations a year over 8 year(s) since 2020 |
| Impact for its field and year | 3 / 6 | Cited 5.4× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 2 / 6 | Cited by 4 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 3 / 4 | Cited 86 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 4 / 4 | Last-listed author Álvaro Pascual‐Leone: h-index 172 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 3 / 3 | Harvard University: institution h-index 3,235 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 3 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 11 institution(s) in 3 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 31879235) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 77 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
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Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
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APA 7th
Sabbagh, M., Sadowsky, C., Tousi, B., Agronin, M. E., Alva, G., Armon, C., et al. (2020). Effects of a combined transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and cognitive training intervention in patients with Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jalz.2019.08.197
Vancouver
Sabbagh M, Sadowsky C, Tousi B, Agronin ME, Alva G, Armon C, et al. Effects of a combined transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and cognitive training intervention in patients with Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association. 2020. doi:10.1016/j.jalz.2019.08.197. PMID: 31879235.
BibTeX
@article{sabbagh2020-31879235,
author = {Sabbagh, M. and Sadowsky, C. and Tousi, B. and Agronin, M. E. and Alva, G. and Armon, C. and Bernick, C. and Keegan, A. P. and others},
title = {{Effects of a combined transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and cognitive training intervention in patients with Alzheimer's disease}},
journal = {Alzheimer's \& dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association},
year = {2020},
doi = {10.1016/j.jalz.2019.08.197},
pmid = {31879235},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jalz.2019.08.197}
}
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