Systematic Review of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation for Post-Stroke Motor Recovery

Xiaoduo Yao's 2026 umbrella review assesses 34 systematic reviews and meta-analyses on transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) for limb motor function after stroke. The study reports PRISMA 2020 scores, AMSTAR 2 quality ratings, and GRADE evidence quality for outcome measures like ARAT and FMA-UE scores.

Use Cases

• Analyze the distribution of AMSTAR 2 quality ratings (high, moderate, low, very low) across the 34 included studies to identify methodological trends.
• Correlate PRISMA 2020 scores with the GRADE evidence quality bodies (high, moderate, low, very low) to study reporting completeness versus evidence strength.
• Examine reported outcome improvements, such as ARAT and FMA-UE scores, in relation to the study's conclusion on TMS effectiveness for upper limb function.

Strengths

• Includes 34 articles, providing a broad overview of existing systematic reviews on the topic.
• Applies three established assessment frameworks: PRISMA 2020 (with a mean score of 22.44), AMSTAR 2, and GRADE.
• Reports specific outcome measures like ARAT and FMA-UE scores, linking analysis to clinical metrics.

Limitations

• The underlying evidence is constrained, with 25 of 34 studies rated as very low quality by AMSTAR 2 and 46 of 121 GRADE evidence bodies rated very low quality.
• Dataset is a 121.8 KB DOCX file containing review text and tables, not a structured, machine-readable data table for direct analysis.
• No primary patient-level data; analysis is based on aggregated findings from other reviews.

Provenance

Source

Xiaoduo Yao, published on figshare.

Collection Method

Umbrella review following PRISMA 2020 guidelines, using AMSTAR 2 for methodological quality and GRADE for evidence quality assessment.

Time Range

Covers literature up to the date of the review's publication.

Freshness

Last updated March 2026.

Geography

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