Navigated repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation for post-stroke recovery: A systematic review and…

ReviewJournal of clinical neuroscience : official journal of the Neurosurgical Society of Australasia· Jul 2026

Navigated repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation for post-stroke recovery: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Evangelos Beris, Parmenion P Tsitsopoulos, Aristeidis H Katsanos … Konstantinos I Tsamis

Neurostimulation & InterventionalReviewTreatmentQ2IF 1.9

Navigated rTMS is associated with modest improvement in stroke recovery versus sham stimulation

Navigated repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation for post-stroke recovery: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Evangelos Beris … Konstantinos I Tsamis

Journal of clinical neuroscience · Jul 2026 · Q2 in General Medicine

Background

Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is a subcategory of non-invasive brain stimulation (non-invasive brain stimulation), used to modulate brain plasticity and improve post-stroke recovery.

Purpose

The objective of this review is to evaluate the efficacy of navigated rTMS in subacute and chronic stroke patients in comparison to sham stimulation.

Methods

We conducted a systematic-review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (randomized controlled trials) identified from Pubmed, Scopus and Cochrane CENTRAL.

n = 1900 studies

Results

modest motor recovery gain with rTMS versus sham

SMD 0.40 (95% CI 0.11 to 0.69)

CI excludes the null - significant

More results

Neuronavigation is used to improve the accuracy of stimulation with the aim of achieving a superior clinical outcome than with conventional targeting.

Among stimulation modalities, continuous theta-burst stimulation showed the largest pooled effect. rTMS was also associated with significant improvements in disability-related outcomes, SMD = 0.61 (95 % CI 0.14-1.08).

More results

Navigated rTMS is associated with modest but significant improvements in motor and disability outcomes in subacute and chronic stroke.

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Conclusion

Large comparative trials are required to clarify the potential added value over conventional targeting approaches.

Navigated repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation for post-stroke recovery: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Navigated repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation for post-stroke recovery: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

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