Sequential left prefrontal Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS), with high frequency, for Treatment-Resistant Depression have been shown to have antidepressant effects. but doubts remain about the magnitude of previously demonstrated treatment effects.The aim of this study is To test whether daily weekday left prefrontal rTMS safely and effectively treats Resistant Depression disorder compared to sham controls.
Design: Prospective, randomized, active sham-controlled (1:1 randomization), duration-adaptive design with 3 weeks of daily weekday treatment (fixed-dose phase) followed by continued blinded treatment for up to another 3 weeks in improvers. Setting: University psychiatric hospitals in Tehran including Roozbeh Hospital, Rasool Hospital and Imam Hossein General Hospital will refer clients to Iranian National Center for Addiction Studies, Tehran University of Medical Sciences. Patients: About 60 patients with unipolar nonpsychotic major depressive disorder, according to DSM-IV, resistant to treatment. INTERVENTION: We delivered rTMS to the left prefrontal cortex at 120% motor threshold (10 Hz, 4-second train duration, and 26-second intertrain interval) for 37.5 minutes (3000 pulses per session) using a figure-eight solid-core coil. Sham rTMS used a similar coil with a metal insert blocking the magnetic field and scalp electrodes that delivered matched somatosensory sensations.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
DOUBLE
Enrollment
60
We deliver rTMS to the left prefrontal cortex at 120% motor threshold (10 Hz, 4-second train duration, and 26-second intertrain interval) for 37.5 minutes (3000 pulses per session) using a figure-eight solid-core coil
Sham rTMS using a similar coil with a metal insert blocking the magnetic field and scalp electrodes that delivered matched somatosensory sensations.
Iranian National Center for Addiction Studies
Tehran, Tehran Province, Iran
change (decrease) of depression according to Hamilton, Beck, BPRS questionnaires.
The primary outcome measure for the study was score on the MADRS. The patients were assessed with the MADRS, the 17-item version of the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D), the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS), the CORE Rating of Psychomotor Disturbance (16), and the Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) Scale (DSM-IVTR).
Time frame: 3 week
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