Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation in Alzheimer's Disease: A Review of Investigational and Therapeutic Findings.

Alzheimer’s disease pathophysiology still remains unclear and current pharmacological strategies have limited effectiveness, so that the search for alternative and/or complementary therapeutic strategies is a compelling need, as well as a detailed characterization of the disease progression and its neurophysiological correlates. Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS),has been employed by a number of studies to physiologically characterize AD, investigating cortical reactivity, plasticity and functional connectivity. A few studies also investigated the therapeutic role of repetitive TMS to enhance cognitive functions in AD. Herein we review a total of thirty-two studies evaluating both investigational and therapeutic role of TMS. Although promising, therapeutic results are still very preliminary and need to be taken with caution, while insights have been provided by most investigational studies.