Transcranial magnetic stimulation for ALS: An integrative review

Introduction. Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is a rare progressive neurological disease that affects neurons responsible for voluntary movements and the symptoms get worse over time. One of the assessment and treatment tools is transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), which is a non-invasive alternative for the electric stimulation of neural tissue, with this stimulation some specific neuro-receptors can be excited. Current literature shows several benefits of TMS as therapy and diagnosis for patients with ALS. Objective. To investigate the applicability of TMS for diagnosing and treating ALS. Method. An integrative review was carried out in which relevant articles were identified by searching the following databases: SCiELO, PubMed, PEDro, and Scopus from April 2020 to September 2020. The authors selected the relevant articles according to the pre-established criteria. Results. Database search found 26,602 articles, 4 were included due to meeting the inclusion criteria. Among the selected articles, 2 refer to diagnostic proposals, while the others present TMS as a tool for treatment. Studies have shown promising results regarding the effect of TMS on the assessment and treatment of ALS. Conclusions. Our results show a significant progress of TMS as an innovative and effective therapy and diagnosis of ALS.