Maintaining the Acute Therapeutic Effect of rTMS in Treatment-Resistant Depression (Maitr-De)
University of California, San Diego
Summary
Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) has emerged as a promising intervention for treatment-resistant depression (TRD), yet substantial uncertainties persist regarding its efficacy as a maintenance treatment. This prospective study seeks to investigate the efficacy of maintenance rTMS in individuals with TRD who have previously responded to an acute course of rTMS. In the R61 phase of the study, we will recruit 75 participants across three study sites, the University of California San Diego, Weill Cornell Medicine, and Australian National University, into a double-blind, three-arm maintenance treatment trial. In this trial, participants will be randomized to receive either standard maintenance rTMS, clustered maintenance rTMS, or sham maintenance rTMS for a duration of 6 months. Our primary aim is to examine the efficacy of maintenance rTMS on sustaining connectivity between the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and subgenual cingulate cortex (SGC) measured through concurrent TMS and electroencephalography (TMS-EEG) at baseline and every six weeks throughout the 6-month treatment period. We will also assess changes in depressive symptom severity using clinical scales, including the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) as a secondary outcome measure. It is hypothesized that stimulation with clustered maintenance rTMS will demonstrate superiority in sustaining DLPFC-SGC connectivity compared with standard maintenance rTMS and sham maintenance rTMS
Eligibility
- Age range
- 18–80 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- No
Inclusion Criteria: 1. They met criteria for a DSM-5 diagnosis of a Major Depressive Episode (MDE) during the index episode of depression for which they have received an acute rTMS treatment course. 2. Meet criteria for either response or remission from their initial depressive illness. The MINI assessment timeline will be adjusted to allow scoring of illness symptoms prior to rTMS response. Response to acute course of treatment is defined as either a MADRS score of \<10, or a MADRS score of 10-19, plus evidence of having met response criteria on either the MADRS or another structured depress…