At a glance
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Treating Refractory Obsessive Compulsive Disorder With Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation: A Double-blind Sham Controlled Longitudinal Study
In Brief
A clinical study evaluating refractory transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) and Sham condition for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Completed, enrolled 19 participants across 2 sites.
Detailed Summary
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a severe psychiatric condition with only limited response to current first-line treatments, comprising pharmacotherapy and cognitive-behavioural therapy. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is a relatively new technique which has shown great promise in the treatment of refractory mood disorders, and schizophrenia, by alteration of brain activity. Previous work has demonstrated altered cortical excitability in OCD and preliminary studies have suggested that rTMS may have therapeutic potential in OCD. This pilot study will investigate the effectiveness of rTMS for treatment-refractory OCD, and establish appropriate treatment parameters. In addition, mechanisms whereby rTMS exerts its therapeutic effect will be explored using TMS to evaluate cortical inhibition and measures of cognitive biases and processing.
Study Details
Timeline
Interventions
Bilateral rTMS will be delivered according to the following protocol: high frequency left (HFL) stimulation will initially be applied at 20 Hz, in 25 trains of 1.5 second duration with a 30 second interval between trains and at 100% of the RMT for a total of 25 minutes of stimulation. Following this HFR stimulation will be applied at the same parameters. Therefore a total of 50 minutes of stimulation will be delivered.
Sham stimulation will be made at the site of active treatment but with only the side edge resting on the scalp. It will be administered as HFL and HFR for 50 minutes but with the coil angled 45-90 degrees away from the skull in a single-wing tilt position. This method produces sound and some somatic sensation (e.g., contraction of scalp muscles) similar to those with active stimulation but with minimal direct brain effects. Participants will be unable to see the stimulating coil and therefore will remain blind to the treatment condition.