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A randomized controlled trial with 4-month follow-up of adjunctive repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation of the left prefrontal cortex for depression

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 October 2007

A. Mogg ,
G. Pluck ,
S. V. Eranti ,
S. Landau ,
R. Purvis ,
R. G. Brown ,
V. Curtis ,
R. Howard ,
M. Philpot  and
D. M. McLoughlin
A. Mogg
Affiliation:
Section of Old Age Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, London, UK
G. Pluck
Affiliation:
Section of Old Age Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, London, UK
S. V. Eranti
Affiliation:
Section of Old Age Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, London, UK
S. Landau
Affiliation:
Department of Biostatistics and Computing, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, London, UK
R. Purvis
Affiliation:
Section of Old Age Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, London, UK
R. G. Brown
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, London, UK
V. Curtis
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, London, UK
R. Howard
Affiliation:
Section of Old Age Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, London, UK
M. Philpot
Affiliation:
South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
D. M. McLoughlin*
Affiliation:
Section of Old Age Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, London, UK
*
*Address for correspondence: Dr D. M. McLoughlin, Section of Old Age Psychiatry, Box PO70, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, De Crespigny Park, London SE5 8AF, UK. (Email: [email protected])
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Abstract

Background

Effectiveness of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) for major depression is unclear. The authors performed a randomized controlled trial comparing real and sham adjunctive rTMS with 4-month follow-up.

Method

Fifty-nine patients with major depression were randomly assigned to a 10-day course of either real (n=29) or sham (n=30) rTMS of the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). Primary outcome measures were the 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD) and proportions of patients meeting criteria for response (⩾50% reduction in HAMD) and remission (HAMD⩽8) after treatment. Secondary outcomes included mood self-ratings on Beck Depression Inventory-II and visual analogue mood scales, Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) score, and both self-reported and observer-rated cognitive changes. Patients had 6-week and 4-month follow-ups.

Results

Overall, Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD) scores were modestly reduced in both groups but with no significant group×time interaction (p=0.09) or group main effect (p=0.85); the mean difference in HAMD change scores was −0.3 (95% CI −3.4 to 2.8). At end-of-treatment time-point, 32% of the real group were responders compared with 10% of the sham group (p=0.06); 25% of the real group met the remission criterion compared with 10% of the sham group (p=0.2); the mean difference in HAMD change scores was 2.9 (95% CI −0.7 to 6.5). There were no significant differences between the two groups on any secondary outcome measures. Blinding was difficult to maintain for both patients and raters.

Conclusions

Adjunctive rTMS of the left DLPFC could not be shown to be more effective than sham rTMS for treating depression.

Keywords

Depressionrandomized controlled trialtranscranial magnetic stimulation
Type
Original Articles
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 38 , Issue 3 , March 2008 , pp. 323 - 333
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2007

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