CASE REPORT article
Front. Psychol.
Sec. Eating Behavior
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1593665
Potential Use of Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation in Treating Pediatric Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder: A Case Report
Provisionally accepted
- Shandong Daizhuang Hospital, Jining, China
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Background: Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID) is a heterogeneous eating disorder that typically manifests during adolescence, potentially leading to various health issues, such as malnutrition, developmental delays, and psychological disturbances. Currently, the management of ARFID is multidisciplinary, involving dietary modifications, pharmacological treatments, and psychotherapy, but no standardized treatment protocol exists. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS), a non-invasive brain stimulation technique, has shown promise in treating various psychiatric disorders. However, its application in ARFID treatment remains under-explored.Case Report: This case study presents a 5-year-old boy diagnosed with ARFID and severe malnutrition, who underwent adjunctive low-frequency rTMS therapy. The patient received 1 Hz rTMS stimulation targeting the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, with a single session consisting of 1,200 pulses administered once daily for 11 consecutive days. After 11 sessions of TMS treatment, when evaluated using the clinical global impression-improvement scale, the patient was scored 2 points, indicating a moderate improvement in symptoms. Twelve days after hospital admission, the patient exhibited significant improvements in emotional status and eating behavior, and no adverse reactions were observed. Subsequently, the patient was discharged from the hospital. Within two months postdischarge, the patient's body weight was restored and remained stable throughout the one-year followup period. Conclusions: This case report offers preliminary evidence regarding the application of lowfrequency rTMS directed at the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex as a potential therapeutic approach for childhood ARFID. Our findings add to the burgeoning body of literature on rTMS therapy for ARFID and lend support to the effectiveness and safety of low-frequency rTMS as a treatment modality for childhood ARFID.
Keywords: Avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder, repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation, Children, efficacy, Safety
Received: 14 Mar 2025; Accepted: 02 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Wang, Wu, Fu and Li. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Kun Li, Shandong Daizhuang Hospital, Jining, China
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