Psychiatry research
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Psychiatry research · Nov 1999
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical TrialRepetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) in pharmacotherapy-refractory major depression: comparative study of fast, slow and sham rTMS.
In previous studies, fast repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) with a frequency > 1 Hz demonstrated substantial antidepressant effects compared to sham rTMS. However, it is not clear whether fast rTMS is superior to slow rTMS (frequency < or = 1 Hz) which is safe at therapeutically promising higher intensities. The aim of this double-blind study was to compare the action of fast, slow and sham rTMS. ⋯ However, the effect was clinically marginal and not reflected by self-rating scores. Verbal memory and reaction performance were not impaired after rTMS, and there was even a statistically significant time x group interaction with improvement of verbal memory performance after fast rTMS. In conclusion, this study further supported the safety of rTMS but does not show any clinically meaningful antidepressant efficacy of rTMS at 250 daily stimuli over 5 days in pharmacotherapy-refractory major depression.