Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39893271›Full record

SynthesisNeuropsychology review2025

Noninvasive Brain Stimulation in Primary Progressive Aphasia with and Without Concomitant Speech and Language Therapy: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Francesco Lomi, Ilaria Simonelli, Stefano Cappa, Patrizio Pasqualetti, Simone Rossi

Abstract readSystematic ReviewMeta-Analysis
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Neuropsychology review, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
8citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

8 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Trial
  2. Article
  3. Review
  4. Non-inferiority of Accelerated vs. Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation in Major Depressive Disorder: A Systematic Review.Clinical psychopharmacology and neuroscience : the official scientific journal of the Korean College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2025
    Review
  5. Review
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Francesco LomiSiena Brain Investigation & Neuromodulation Lab (Si-BIN Lab), Unit of Neurology and Clinical Neurophysiology, Department of Medicine, Surgery and Neuroscience, University of Siena - Policlinico Le Scotte, Viale Mario Bracci, 16, 53100, Siena, Italy. francesco.lomi@unifi.it.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0000-8447-0154
Ilaria SimonelliBiostatistics Service, Clinical Research Center, Isola Tiberina-Gemelli Isola Hospital, Via Di Ponte Quattro Capi, 39, Rome, Italy.
Stefano CappaInstitute for Advanced Study, IUSS, Piazza Della Vittoria, 15, Pavia, Italy.
Patrizio PasqualettiSection of Health Statistics and Biometry, Department of Public Health and Infectious Diseases, Faculty of Pharmacy and Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro, 5, Rome, Italy.
Simone RossiSiena Brain Investigation & Neuromodulation Lab (Si-BIN Lab), Unit of Neurology and Clinical Neurophysiology, Department of Medicine, Surgery and Neuroscience, University of Siena - Policlinico Le Scotte, Viale Mario Bracci, 16, 53100, Siena, Italy.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Primary progressive aphasias (PPA) represent a group of neurodegenerative conditions affecting verbal communication abilities for which no effective medication is currently available. Noninvasive brain stimulation (NiBS) has been mainly explored as adjunctive therapy to conventional speech and language therapy (SLT) with promising results. The present meta-analysis of randomized-controlled trials (RCTs) aims to evaluate the efficacy of NiBS in PPA patients on a range of linguistic tasks (naming, phonemic fluency, semantic fluency). A literature search was carried out using EMBASE and PUBMED, searching for multi-session RCTs administering NiBS on PPA patients as stand-alone or with SLT. The results were not significant overall, indicating a null difference between the active and the sham condition on language functions; pooled effects tended to be higher in parallel than in crossover studies and for follow-ups than post-treatment. In the naming analyses, the combined effects for the studies that coupled NiBS with SLT were slightly higher than the overall effect at each time point, although not significant. These results need to be considered with caution given the low number of included studies and small sample sizes, but offer relevant indications for future research in terms of optimal treatment protocols and personalization of therapies.

Indexed as

Aphasia, Primary ProgressiveLanguage TherapySpeech TherapyTranscranial Direct Current StimulationTranscranial Magnetic StimulationHumansRandomized Controlled Trials as TopicTreatment OutcomeNoninvasive brain stimulation (NiBS)Primary progressive aphasiaSpeech and language therapyTranscranial direct current stimulation (tDCS)Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)

Identifiers

PMID39893271
PMCPMC12920721

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.