comparison of the effectiveness of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation and drug therapy in the treatment of post-traumatic stress

Background: repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rtms) to address post-traumatic stress disorder (ptsd) displays considerable potential and has received approval.objectives: the present study aimed to assess the relative efficacy of rtms and pharmacological therapy in the treatment of ptsd.  methods: the study was conducted based on a quasi-experimental control group pretest-posttest design. the statistical population consisted of all patients referred to specialized clinics in the 2nd, 3rd, and 7th districts of tehran between july and september 2022. for the purposeful selection, 45 individuals with ptsd were recruited and assigned to two experimental groups (rtms, drug therapy) and a control group (each group consisting of 15 participants). the rtms treatment comprised three sessions per week over four weeks, employing the specified parameters outlined about the variables of the study. specifically, ptsd was targeted using a frequency of 1 hz for 20 min and 1200 pulses, with the stimulation centered around the f4 areas. pre and post-interventions were measured using the millon clinical multiaxial inventory-iii or checklist-90-revision. the data analysis was conducted in spss software (version 26) using g an analysis of the covariance test.  results: as evidenced by the results, the reduction of ptsd symptoms achieved through rtms surpasses that of drug therapy(p= 0.0001). conclusion: the obtained results indicated that rtms interventions exhibited superior efficacy compared to others. in particular, protocols aimed at stimulating the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex appear to outperform placebo interventions. nonetheless, further knowledge is still needed regarding the optimal configurations for rtm treatment.