SynthesisFrontiers in psychiatry2026
Comparative efficacy and cognitive safety of magnetic seizure therapy and electroconvulsive therapy in major depressive disorder: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Frontiers in psychiatry, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
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.
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.
Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- Magnetic seizure therapy for severe depressive episodes: An open-label case series.Indian journal of psychiatry · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: Major depressive disorder (MDD) necessitates treatments that balance efficacy with tolerability. Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is highly effective but limited by cognitive side effects. Magnetic seizure therapy (MST), a more focal convulsive therapy, may offer a superior safety profile. This systematic review and meta-analysis directly compares the efficacy and cognitive safety of MST and ECT for MDD. Methods: We systematically searched PubMed, Embase, Cochrane CENTRAL, Web of Science, WanFang, and CNKI (inception to Nov 2025) for randomized and non-randomized controlled studies comparing MST and ECT in adults with MDD. Primary outcomes were antidepressant response and depression score changes. Secondary outcomes included cognitive function, reorientation time, and adverse events. Pooled effect estimates (RR, SMD, MD, OR) with 95% CIs were calculated. Results: 13 studies (N = 607 participants) were included. MST and ECT demonstrated comparable clinical response (RR = 1.10, 95% CI: 0.94-1.27) and remission (RR = 1.04, 95% CI: 0.72-1.50) rates. Post-sensitivity analysis favored ECT for depression score change (SMD = 0.36, p=0.0001). MST was superior in preserving cognitive function (SMD = 1.19, p=0.005), enabling faster reorientation (MD=-16.72 min, p<0.00001), and reducing overall adverse event risk (OR = 0.23, p<0.00001), notably for memory loss, headache, and muscle pain. Seizure durations were shorter with MST. Conclusions: While MST and ECT had comparable response and remission rates, sensitivity analysis of depression score changes suggested potential superiority of ECT, warranting cautious interpretation. MST provided significantly better cognitive safety and tolerability, including fewer cognitive adverse events and faster reorientation. These findings support MST as a valuable alternative for MDD patients, especially when cognitive side effects are a primary concern.This systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted and reported in strict accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) 2020 guidelines (23). Systematic Review Registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/view/CRD420261277041, identifier CRD420261277041.
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Registered trials
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 Socratic graph.