Aurelia Gargiulo incoraggia l’uso della stimolazione transcranica nell’autismo, premettendo correttamente che questo tipo di intervento é stato approvato dalla FDA solo per la depressione che non ha risposto ai farmaci. http://autismo33.it/pipermail/autismo-biologia/2019-February/003374.html In letteratura sono comparse recentemente due rassegne sulla stimolazione transcranica nei disturbi del neurosviluppo: Autism. 2019 Jan 20:1362361318822502. doi: 10.1177/1362361318822502. [Epub ahead of print] Clinical effectiveness of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation treatment in children and adolescents with neurodevelopmental disorders: A systematic review. Masuda F1,2, Nakajima S1, Miyazaki T1, Tarumi R1, Ogyu K1, Wada M1, Tsugawa S1, Croarkin PE3, Mimura M1, Noda Y1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30663323 No severe adverse effects were reported in these studies. In patients with autism spectrum disorder, low-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation and intermittent theta burst stimulation applied to the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex may have therapeutic effects on social functioning and repetitive behaviors. In patients with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, low-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation applied to the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and high-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation applied to the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex may target inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. In patients with tic disorders, low-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation applied to the bilateral supplementary motor area improved tic symptom severity. This systematic review suggests that repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation may be a promising intervention for children and adolescents with neurodevelopmental disorders. The results warrant further large randomized controlled trials of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation in children with neurodevelopmental disorders. Dev Med Child Neurol. 2018 Nov 19. doi: 10.1111/dmcn.14104. [Epub ahead of print] Transcranial direct current stimulation in children with autism spectrum disorder: a systematic scoping review. Osório AAC1,2, Brunoni AR3,4,5,6. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30451290 Preliminary evidence is encouraging of the potential usefulness of tDCS for treatment of ASD in children and adolescents. It suggests tentative support for reductions in symptom severity and, according to parental reports and clinical observations, improvements in some aspects of language. However, the evidence is sparse and of low quality, so the true effect of tDCS is likely to be substantially different from the estimate of effect in this review. Therefore, future randomized controlled trials are needed to draw conclusions regarding tDCS efficacy in paediatric samples with ASD. In conclusione allo stato attuale delle conoscenze i due tipi di stimolazione transcranica (magnetica ed elettrica) sono considerati trattamenti promettenti per alcuni sintomi dello spettro autistico, ma devono essere applicati nell’ambito di sperimentazioni controllate randomizzate di ampie dimensioni, se si vuole giungere a conclusioni convincenti sulla loro efficacia e tollerabilitá. Daniela Mariani Cerati