Transcranial Pulse Stimulation (TPS) as a Treatment for Cognitive Disorders in Aging: A Protocol for a Systematic Review
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In an aging population with limited standard pharmacological treatment methods for cognitive disorders, the importance of non-invasive brain stimulation techniques – particularly Transcranial Pulse Stimulation (TPS) – is ever increasing. Though research on TPS in the treatment of cognitive disorders is present, there are currently no systematic reviews that focus solely on the use of TPS in cognitive disorders of aging. The primary objective of this literature review is to determine what cognitive disorders of aging have been studied with TPS as a treatment, and to narratively summarize what is known about the effectiveness of TPS treatment on neurocognitive performance and neuroimaging metrics. The study protocol will follow PRISMA-P guidelines and the completed review will follow PRISMA 2020 guidelines. PubMed, PsycINFO, Embase and Scopus will be searched to find peer-reviewed primary literature. Included literature will focus on the use of TPS in the treatment of at least one cognitive disorder of aging, with the relevant population defined as adults 50 years old or older. Searching and screening will be organized in Covidence and both screening and data extraction will be completed by at least two independent reviewers. Data will be synthesized narratively, with a focus on general themes and patterns, accounting for expected heterogeneity. Primary outcomes will include cognitive disorder treated (e.g. Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, Mild Cognitive Impairment, etc.), treatment protocol (number of sessions, length of treatment, etc.), outcome measures split into cognitive performance measures and neuroimaging measures, reported side effects/adverse events and relevant results. Any additionally relevant outcomes will be considered as part of narrative completeness. No ethics approval is needed, and findings will be published in a peer-reviewed journal(s). This protocol is registered on PROSPERO (CRD420251246424).
