April 29, 2026 · BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · DOI: 10.1136/bmj-2025-086295

Accelerated continuous theta burst stimulation targeting left primary motor cortex for children with autism spectrum disorder: multicentre randomised sham controlled trial

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The authors aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of a five-day accelerated continuous theta burst stimulation (a-cTBS) protocol in enhancing social communication abilities in children with autism spectrum disorder. The multicentre randomized sham-controlled trial found that a-cTBS significantly reduced social communication impairments and improved language skills compared to the sham treatment, with a favorable safety profile. These results suggest that a-cTBS could be a promising therapeutic option for this population.

Hangyu Tan, Tai Ren, Aihua Cao, Shuanfeng Fang, Lin Deng, Bo Hu, Mei Wang, Ye Cheng, Xi Zhang, Yawen Li, Yixia Zhang, Lingli Zhang, Luan Chen, Wei Zhou, Qianlong Zhang, Jiong Li, Xin Zhou, Christelle Langley, Qiang Luo, Jun Zhang, Barbara J Sahakian, Ti-Fei Yuan, Fei Li

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