TY - JOUR
T1 - Effectiveness of transcranial alternating current stimulation for controlling chronic pain
T2 - a systematic review
AU - Chang, Min Cheol
AU - Briand, Marie Michèle
AU - Boudier-Revéret, Mathieu
AU - Yang, Seoyon
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © 2023 Chang, Briand, Boudier-Revéret and Yang.
PY - 2023
Y1 - 2023
N2 - Background: Chronic pain is common, disruptive, and often treatment-resistant. Hence, researchers and clinicians seek alternative therapies for chronic pain. Transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) is an emerging neuromodulation technique that non-invasively modulates neural oscillations in the human brain. tACS induces pain relief by allowing the neural network to restore adequate synchronization. We reviewed studies on the effectiveness of tACS in controlling chronic pain. Methods: The PubMed, SCOPUS, Embase, and Cochrane Library databases were systematically searched for relevant studies published until December 6, 2023. The key search phrase for identifying potentially relevant articles was [(Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation OR tACS) AND pain]. The following inclusion criteria were applied for article selection: (1) studies involving patients with chronic pain; (2) tACS was applied for controlling pain; and (3) follow-up evaluations were performed to assess the degree of pain reduction after the application of tACS. Results: We identified 2,330 potentially relevant articles. After reading the titles and abstracts and assessing eligibility based on the full-text articles, we included four articles in our review. Among the included studies, tACS was used for fibromyalgia in one study, low back pain (LBP) in two studies, and migraine in one study. In the study on fibromyalgia, it did not show a better pain-reducing effect of tACS compared with sham stimulation. Two studies on LBP showed conflicting results. In migraine, tACS showed a positive pain-reducing effect 24–48 h after its application. Conclusion: There is insufficient research to draw a conclusive judgment on the effectiveness of tACS in controlling chronic pain. More studies across various chronic pain-related diseases are required for a definitive conclusion.
AB - Background: Chronic pain is common, disruptive, and often treatment-resistant. Hence, researchers and clinicians seek alternative therapies for chronic pain. Transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) is an emerging neuromodulation technique that non-invasively modulates neural oscillations in the human brain. tACS induces pain relief by allowing the neural network to restore adequate synchronization. We reviewed studies on the effectiveness of tACS in controlling chronic pain. Methods: The PubMed, SCOPUS, Embase, and Cochrane Library databases were systematically searched for relevant studies published until December 6, 2023. The key search phrase for identifying potentially relevant articles was [(Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation OR tACS) AND pain]. The following inclusion criteria were applied for article selection: (1) studies involving patients with chronic pain; (2) tACS was applied for controlling pain; and (3) follow-up evaluations were performed to assess the degree of pain reduction after the application of tACS. Results: We identified 2,330 potentially relevant articles. After reading the titles and abstracts and assessing eligibility based on the full-text articles, we included four articles in our review. Among the included studies, tACS was used for fibromyalgia in one study, low back pain (LBP) in two studies, and migraine in one study. In the study on fibromyalgia, it did not show a better pain-reducing effect of tACS compared with sham stimulation. Two studies on LBP showed conflicting results. In migraine, tACS showed a positive pain-reducing effect 24–48 h after its application. Conclusion: There is insufficient research to draw a conclusive judgment on the effectiveness of tACS in controlling chronic pain. More studies across various chronic pain-related diseases are required for a definitive conclusion.
KW - chronic pain
KW - fibromyalgia
KW - low back pain
KW - migraine
KW - review
KW - transcranial alternating current stimulation
KW - treatment
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85181221969&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3389/fneur.2023.1323520
DO - 10.3389/fneur.2023.1323520
M3 - Review article
AN - SCOPUS:85181221969
SN - 1664-2295
VL - 14
JO - Frontiers in Neurology
JF - Frontiers in Neurology
M1 - 1323520
ER -