People with mild cognitive impairment often worry about losing their memory or thinking skills. A new analysis looked at how repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation, or rTMS, might help. This treatment uses magnetic fields to gently stimulate brain activity. The review combined data from 532 participants across five different studies.
The results showed clear improvements in global cognition, which measures overall thinking ability. Scores on the MMSE and MoCA tests went up significantly. Participants also performed better on tests of verbal memory and attention tasks like the Trail Making Test.
However, the study did not find a significant difference in language fluency. Safety data were not reported in the included studies, so doctors cannot yet say if side effects are rare or common. The certainty of the evidence was mostly moderate, but the sample sizes were limited.
Experts say larger, high-quality trials are needed before this treatment becomes a standard option. For now, the findings offer hope but require more proof before changing medical practice.