Mood Improvement Following Daily Left Prefrontal Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation in Patients With Depression: A Placebo-Controlled Crossover Trial

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Preliminary studies have indicated that daily left prefrontal repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation might have antidepressant activity. The authors sought to confirm this finding by using a double-blind crossover design. METHOD: Twelve depressed adults received in random order 2 weeks of active treatment (repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation, 20 Hz at 80% motor threshold) and 2 weeks of sham treatment. RESULTS: Changes from the relevant phase baseline in scores on the 21-item Hamilton depression scale showed that repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation significantly improved mood over sham treatment. During the active-treatment phase, Hamilton depression scale scores decreased 5 points, while during sham treatment the scores increased or worsened by 3 points. No adverse effects were noted. CONCLUSIONS: These placebo-controlled results suggest that daily left prefrontal repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation has antidepressant activity when administered at these paramet...