Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation for generalized anxiety and panic disorders: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is an FDA-approved, noninvasive modality for treating major depressive disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Earlier studies evaluating therapeutic effects of rTMS on symptom scores of patients with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and panic disorder (PD) have yielded inconsistent findings. METHODS: We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of interventional studies assessing the effect of rTMS on symptom scores in patients with GAD or PD with or without psychiatric comorbidities using studies published up to April 2021. We used DerSimonian-Laird random effects models to obtain pooled standardized mean difference (SMD) and 95% CI. RESULTS: A total of 13 studies consisting of 677 participants (404 treated with rTMS and 273 without rTMS) were included in this meta-analysis. In GAD patients with or without any comorbidities, rTMS therapy demonstrated significant improvements in anxiety (SMD = 1.45; P < .001) and depression (SMD = 1.65; P < .001) scores regardless of rTMS parameters. Overall anxiety (SMD = 0.24; P = .48) and panic severity (SMD = 1.19; P = .054) scores did not significantly improve after rTMS therapy in patients with PD. CONCLUSIONS: rTMS is safe and improves anxiety and depression scores only in GAD patients, regardless of underlying comorbidities or rTMS parameters.

A systematic review and meta-analysis of the association between maternal polycystic ovary syndrome and neuropsychiatric disorders in children.

There is emerging evidence demonstrating an association between maternal polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in children, however, the cumulative effect of maternal PCOS on the development of ASD or other neuropsychiatry disorders (NPD) in children and separately for males and females has not been examined. We sought to systematically evaluate the influence of maternal PCOS on a wide range of NPD including ASD, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), chronic tic disorder (CDT), other behavior disorders, anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia in children as well as in women of reproductive age only. We queried electronic databases including PubMed, EMBASE, and Google Scholar, until March 2021. We used DerSimonian and Laird (D-L) random effects method to compute pooled effect size in terms of odds ratio (OR). Nineteen studies (1667851 mothers, 2260622 children) were included in this study. Mothers with PCOS had an increased odds of children diagnosed with ASD (OR = 1.40, p < 0.001), ADHD (OR = 1.42, p < 0.001), CTD (OR = 1.44, p = 0.001), anxiety (OR = 1.33, p < 0.001), as well as other behavioral symptoms (OR = 1.45, p < 0.001) in the adjusted analysis. The association between maternal PCOS and ASD (OR: 1.43 vs. 1.66), ADHD (OR: 1.39 vs. 1.54), and CTD (OR: 1.42 vs. 1.51) was found to be significantly consistent between males and females, respectively. Our data do not suggest increased fetal testosterone exposure is associated with increased autistic traits in children. However, PCOS was significantly associated with increased odds of a wide range of NPD in women themselves. Maternal PCOS is a risk factor for various NPD with a similar extent in their children regardless of their underlying comorbidities. Managing PCOS is essential for women's health as well as for their children's health. More research is needed to determine the mechanisms and links between maternal PCOS and NPD in children.