Augmentation with low-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation in the treatment of moderate to severe recurrent depressive disorder

Methods: This study examines the effectiveness of 3-weekly low-frequency rTMS (LF-rTMS) sessions across five weeks as an augmentation treatment for patients with moderate or severe recurrent unipolar depression, while exploring predictors of treatment on the basis of cognitive, affective and somatic symptom dimensions. For this purpose, we conducted a retrospective, uncontrolled open-label study of the systematic datasets of 20 consecutive patients. Depressive symptoms were assessed prior to, during and after LF-rTMS using the BDI-II-NL. Clinical response was defined as a 50 % reduction in BDI-II-Nl total score. Results: A significant reduction in BDI-II-Nl total score (p=0.003) was observed, with 40 % of patients responding. Linear regression (R²=0.540; p=0.005) showed the somatic domain at baseline to predict treatment outcome best. Conclusion: Three weekly LF-rTMS treatments delivered in five weeks is effective in improving moderate and severe depressive disorder with the somatic symptom dimension being the most predictive of treatment success.

Jaar van publicatie:2019

Trefwoorden:A1 Journal article

Toegankelijkheid:Open