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Objective: The purpose of this meta-analysis was to investigate the antidepressant effects of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) over the prefrontal cortex (PFC) of patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) and to determine the optimal rTMS parameters, such as the intensity, frequency and the delivered pattern of rTMS stimulation. Methods: EMBASE, PubMed, Web of Science, MEDLINE, and Cochrane data bases were researched for papers published before March 12, 2018. Studies investigating the anti-depression effects of rTMS over PFC in patients with PD were considered. The main outcomes of pre- and post-rTMS treatment as well as score changes were all extracted. The mean effect size was estimated by calculating the standardized mean difference (SMD) with 95% confidence interval (CI) by using fixed or random effect models as appropriate. Results: Nine studies containing 137 PD patients with depression were included. The pooled results showed significant pre-post anti-depressive effects of rTMS over PFC in PD patients with depression (SMD = -0.80, P P = 0.0006; >100% RMT: SMD = -0.82, P P = 0.03; 5.0 Hz: SMD = -1.10, P P = 0.02. Models: Continuous: SMD = -0.79, P P = 0.02). But the results of the studies with place-controlled designs were not significant (Overall: SMD = -0.27, P = 0.54. Intensities: 90% RMT: SMD = 0.27, P = 0.68; 100% RMT: SMD = -0.32, P = 0.33. Frequencies: 5.0 Hz: SMD = -0.87, P = 0.10; ≥10.0 Hz: SMD = 0.27, P = 0.66. Models: Continuous: SMD = -0.28, P = 0.68; Discontinuous: SMD = -0.32, P = 0.33). The greater effect sizes of rTMS with 90% RMT, 5.0 Hz in discontinuous days can be observed rather than the other parameters in both kinds of analyses across study design. Conclusions: rTMS may have a significant positive pre-post anti-depressive effect over PFC on patients with depression, especially by using 5.0 Hz frequency with 90% RMT intensity in discontinuous days, which may produce better effects than other parameters. The real effect, though, was not different from that of the placebo. Future studies with larger sample sizes and high-quality studies are needed to further corroborate our results and to identify the optimal rTMS protocols.
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