Zhang JJQ, et al. - In patients with alcohol, nicotine, and illicit drug dependence, researchers examined evidence related to repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) for its anti-craving and consumption-reducing effects. In this systematic review and meta-analysis, they included 26 randomized controlled trials comprising 748 participants. Outcomes suggest an acute effect of excitatory rTMS of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex on decreasing craving and substance consumption in these patients. Further, there seemed an association of stimulation dose with the anti-craving effect. A significant positive correlation was seen between the total number of stimulation pulses and effect size in studies using excitatory left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex stimulation according to meta-regression analysis.