Mechanisms of Deep Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation in Enhancing Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Anorexia Nervosa

May 6, 2025 updated by: Jue CHEN, Shanghai Mental Health Center

Mechanisms of Deep Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Enhances the Efficacy of Cognitive-behavioral Therapy (CBT) by Modulating Anterior Cingulate Cortex in Patients With Anorexia Nervosa

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if dTMS targeting the ACC can be used to rapidly and effectively treat AN. A randomized controlled study design is adopted, in which patients with AN are divided into the CBT+dTMS treatment group and CBT+pseudostimulation group by 1:1 randomization, followed by a 6-week intervention and a half-year follow-up to clarify whether CBT combined with dTMS is superior to single CBT treatment for AN.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

The investigators propose hypothesis that CBT improves AN symptoms by modulating the "AN-ACC pathology network", and that high-frequency stimulation targeting the ACC by dTMS can synergize "AN-ACC pathology network" and enhance the efficacy of CBT. In order to verify this hypothesis, a randomized controlled study design is adopted, in which patients with AN are divided into the CBT+dTMS treatment group and CBT+pseudostimulation group by 1:1 randomization, followed by 6-week intervention and a half-year follow up, to clarify the near-term and long-term efficacy and safety of the dTMS treatment. Patients in both groups undergo fMRI examinations, complete delay discounting task (DDT) and body image task before and after each treatment session. Symptoms, psychometrics and side effect questionnaires are followed up at baseline, week 6 (at the end of treatment), and weeks 4, 8, 12 and 24 (after completion of treatment). This study will provide a theoretical and practical basis for the innovative combined intervention method in patients with AN, and to verify the "AN-ACC pathological network" pathomechanism of AN at multiple levels.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
110

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Locations

  • China
    • Shanghai
      • Shanghai, Shanghai, China, 200030
        • Recruiting
        • Shanghai Mental Health
        • Contact:

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Inclusion Criteria:
  • Female, aged 18-35 years, right handedness.
  • Above primary education.
  • Meet the diagnostic criteria of AN in DSM-V, and13.0 kg/m2 ≤ body mass index (BMI)<18.5 kg/m2.
  • No systemic nutritional therapy, psychiatric medication or any form of psychotherapy have been received within 1 month before enrollment.
  • Able to understand the nature of this study and sign an informed consent form.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Diagnosed with a DSM-5 disease other than anorexia nervosa, or at high risk of suicide, strong impulsive behavior as well as anti-social behavior.
  • With severe physical or cognitive impairment.
  • Not able to undergo MRI.
  • Considered unsuitable for enrollment in this clinical trial for other reasons.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Double

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: CBT+dTMS treatment group
CBT+dTMS treatment group has 55 patients. Each patient receives 12 individual sessions of CBT for 50 minutes 2 times per week for 6 weeks. dTMS intervention use real coils, targeting ACC, given 5 times per week (Monday to Friday) for 6 consecutive weeks.
Other: Basic treatment
According to national and international guidelines for the treatment of eating disorders, the basic treatment for patients is nutritional therapy, that is, regular and quantitative dietary treatment, with three regular meals followed by a snack meal 2 hours after the regular meal. Both groups received the same nutritional treatment.
Device: Deep transcranial magnetic stimulation
M-100 Ultimate pulsed magnetic field stimulator is used for dTMS treatment. The coil is positioned 4 cm anterior to the scalp point and the foot motor cortex, corresponding to the ACC. A naturally cold HF001A coil is used to obtain a greater depth of stimulation, up to about 6 cm subcortical. The coil is an integrated coil for true and false stimulation loops. The intervention protocol is as follows: 30 treatments are given 5 times per week (Monday to Friday) for 6 consecutive weeks. Intervention mode: stimulation frequency 20Hz, stimulation intensity 100% RMT, number of serial pulses 50, sequence interval 20s, a total of 40 trials, 2000 pulses, stimulating the left and right ACC respectively.
Behavioral: cognitive behavior therapy
Each patient receives 12 individual sessions of 50 minutes twice a week for 6 weeks.The CBT therapists are nationally registered psychotherapists with systematic professional training and uniform training in CBT for anorexia nervosa to ensure consistency. They are also supervised by a CBT supervisor at the end of each session.
Active Comparator: CBT+pseudo-stimulation group
CBT+Pseudo-stimulation group has 55 patients. Each patient receives 12 individual sessions of CBT for 50 minutes 2 times per week for 6 weeks. dTMS intervention uses sham coils (with the same parameters as real dTMS and generating the same noise as real coils, but without the magnetic field). It is given 5 times per week (Monday to Friday) for 6 consecutive weeks.
Other: Basic treatment
According to national and international guidelines for the treatment of eating disorders, the basic treatment for patients is nutritional therapy, that is, regular and quantitative dietary treatment, with three regular meals followed by a snack meal 2 hours after the regular meal. Both groups received the same nutritional treatment.
Behavioral: cognitive behavior therapy
Each patient receives 12 individual sessions of 50 minutes twice a week for 6 weeks.The CBT therapists are nationally registered psychotherapists with systematic professional training and uniform training in CBT for anorexia nervosa to ensure consistency. They are also supervised by a CBT supervisor at the end of each session.
Device: Sham deep transcranial magnetic stimulation
M-100 Ultimate pulsed magnetic field stimulator is used for dTMS treatment. The coil is positioned 4 cm anterior to the scalp point and the foot motor cortex, corresponding to the ACC (The sham coil has the same parameters as real dTMS and generating the same noise as real coils, but without the magnetic field). A naturally cold HF001A coil is used to obtain a greater depth of stimulation, up to about 6 cm subcortical. The intervention protocol is as follows: 30 treatments are given 5 times per week (Monday to Friday) for 6 consecutive weeks. Intervention mode: stimulation frequency 20Hz, stimulation intensity 100% RMT, number of serial pulses 50, sequence interval 20s, a total of 40 trials, 2000 pulses, stimulating the left and right ACC respectively.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Body Mass Index (BMI)
Time Frame: week 0（baseline）, week 2、week4（during intervention）, week 6（post-intervention）, week10、18、30（follow-up）
Calculation: BMI = weight (kg) divided by the square of height (m)
week 0（baseline）, week 2、week4（during intervention）, week 6（post-intervention）, week10、18、30（follow-up）

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE-Q6.0)
Time Frame: week 0（baseline）, week 2、week4（during intervention）, week 6（post-intervention）, week10、18、30（follow-up）
Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire can assess the core symptoms of eating disorders, including behavioral and psychological characteristics, and rate their frequency and intensity, which can assess the severity of the eating disorder. It consists of 4 subscales, including dietary restriction, eating concerns, body image concerns, and weight concerns.
week 0（baseline）, week 2、week4（during intervention）, week 6（post-intervention）, week10、18、30（follow-up）
Eating Disorder Inventory (EDI-II)
Time Frame: week 0（baseline）, week 2、week4（during intervention）, week 6（post-intervention）, week10、18、30（follow-up）
It is a commonly used scale for assessing cognitive-behavioral symptoms of eating disorders and is used to assess the severity of eating disorders. The scale contains 91 items divided into 8 subscales and 3 temporary subscales, including the pursuit of thinness, bulimia, body dissatisfaction, feelings of ineffectiveness, perfectionism, mistrust of others, introspection, maturity fears, abstinence, impulsive regulation and social insecurity.
week 0（baseline）, week 2、week4（during intervention）, week 6（post-intervention）, week10、18、30（follow-up）
Beck Depression Inventory (BDI)
Time Frame: week 0（baseline）, week 2、week4（during intervention）, week 6（post-intervention）, week10、18、30（follow-up）
The BDI consists of 21 items and assesses the patient's accompanying feelings of depression over the past 2 weeks.
week 0（baseline）, week 2、week4（during intervention）, week 6（post-intervention）, week10、18、30（follow-up）
Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI)
Time Frame: week 0（baseline）, week 2、week4（during intervention）, week 6（post-intervention）, week10、18、30（follow-up）
The Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) is a self-rating scale used to assess a patient's anxiety symptoms. The scale consists of 21 items, each evaluating the degree of distress caused by anxiety symptoms. It uses a four-point scale from 1 to 4, with 1 indicating no symptoms and 4 indicating severe symptoms. The total score ranges from a minimum of 21 to a maximum of 84, with higher scores indicating more severe anxiety symptoms.
week 0（baseline）, week 2、week4（during intervention）, week 6（post-intervention）, week10、18、30（follow-up）
Self-assessed Compulsive Questionnaire for Eating Disorders (SR-YBC-EDS)
Time Frame: week 0（baseline）, week 2、week4（during intervention）, week 6（post-intervention）, week10、18、30（follow-up）
The SR-YBC-EDS was developed based on the Yale-Brown Compulsive Questionnaire for Eating Disorders (YBC-EDS), consisting of two parts: the first part is a list of 65 symptomatic items, which is used to identify the subjects' obsessive-compulsive symptoms, and the second part is a list of 8 core items, which is used to assess the frequency and severity of obsessive-compulsive symptoms. All parts contain two dimensions: preoccupation and ritual behavior.
week 0（baseline）, week 2、week4（during intervention）, week 6（post-intervention）, week10、18、30（follow-up）
Body Image Tasks
Time Frame: week 0（baseline）, ,week 6（post-intervention）
Tasks that address excessive concerns about body shape/weight include the following two parts: Body size estimation: The screen will present the above 30 body size pictures sequentially, the subjects will view the body size pictures in 4000ms, and then evaluate the body size of the body pictures in 4000ms, with a score of 1 representing "very low body weight", 4 representing "very overweight", and 4 representing "very overweight". A score of 1 represents "very low weight" and a score of 4 represents "very overweight". Body compare task: The screen will present the above 30 body images in turn, the subjects will have 4000ms to view their own images (with randomized distortions), and then they will have 4000ms to compare their actual body shape with the body shape in the images and assess their emotional level. 1 point represents "very calm" and 4 for "very anxious".
week 0（baseline）, ,week 6（post-intervention）
Delay Discounting Task (DDT task)
Time Frame: week 0（baseline）, week 6（post-intervention）
The study uses a DDT task in a food choice scenario to assess inhibitory impulses. The task requires subjects to make a decision between choosing a small reward in the present or a large reward in the future. Inhibition to choose a small reward in the present implies a strong intertemporal decision-making ability. The task begins with an assessment of their hunger, willingness to eat, and emotional feelings at the moment. Then they are asked to rate 40 pictures of food on a scale of 0 to 10 on five dimensions: familiarity, craving, positive and negative emotions, emotional intensity, and eating control. Pictures of foods with craving scores >7 and eating control <5, as well as matched in familiarity and emotion for use in the ensuing delay discounting task. The choice is made by pressing a button: Patients choosing to get less food immediately are given fewer coupons after the delay. But those waiting for a period of time to get more food are given more coupons after the delay.
week 0（baseline）, week 6（post-intervention）

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Shanghai Mental Health Center

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Jue Chen, PhD, Shanghai Mental Health Center

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Estimated)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
April 30, 2025

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
September 30, 2028

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
December 31, 2028

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
April 17, 2025

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
April 17, 2025

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
April 24, 2025

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
May 11, 2025

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
May 6, 2025

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
April 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • 82471573

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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