Efficacy of Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) as an add-on Treatment for Resistant OCD

January 6, 2010 updated by: University of Sao Paulo General Hospital

Right Prefrontal High Frequency rTMS in Treatment of Resistant OCD: a Double Blind, Randomized Controlled Trial

OCD is a chronic condition with a high rate of poor responders to conventional treatments, such as antidepressants and psychotherapy. Chronic symptoms can lead to important social impairment and suffering for patients and families.

The present study aims to investigate if the addition of transcranial magnetic stimulation can provide enhanced response to conventional treatment.

Transcranial magnetic stimulation is a noninvasive technique that can influence specific areas of the brain and has very few side effects.

Study Overview

Detailed Description

The treatment with transcranial magnetic stimulation requires attendance to hospital daily sessions for 6 consecutive weeks. Each session lasts up to 30 minutes.

Side effects include scalp discomfort and mild headache. No anesthesia is required.

Stimulation aims the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, a region previously studied to treat depression symptoms with positive results. The present technique has never been employed in previous studies, but risks are insignificant

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

30

Phase

  • Phase 2

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

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years to 65 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • resistant OCD patients: maximum 25% reduction in Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS) scores after at least 3 adequate trials with serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SRI) (including clomipramine) and 20 hours of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) or documented intolerance to either treatment.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • metallic cerebral implants
  • history of severe trauma or brain injury
  • organic brain disease
  • severe somatic disease
  • history of drug dependence
  • chronic psychosis
  • present manic state

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
Intervention / Treatment
Placebo Comparator: Sham rTMS
Patients with stable medication regimen receiving 30 daily sessions of PLACEBO rTMS delivered to the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex
30 daily sessions: each with 40 trains of 5 seconds at 10Hz, with a 25 second inter-train interval, at an intensity of 110% of motor threshold. Site: Right Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex
Other Names:
  • TMS
Active Comparator: Active rTMS
Patients with stable medication regimen receiving 30 daily sessions of active rTMS delivered to the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex
30 daily sessions: each with 40 trains of 5 seconds at 10Hz, with a 25 second inter-train interval, at an intensity of 110% of motor threshold. Site: Right Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex
Other Names:
  • TMS

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
A reduction of at least 30 % in the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (YBOCS) scores and an "improved" or "much improved" score on the Clinical Global Impression (CGI) improvement scale by the end of follow-up
Time Frame: 3 - 6 months
3 - 6 months

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Carlos G Mansur, MD, Department and Institute of Psychiatry, General Hospital, University of Sao Paulo medical school

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

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

August 1, 2003

Primary Completion (Actual)

August 1, 2009

Study Completion (Actual)

August 1, 2009

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

January 5, 2010

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 6, 2010

First Posted (Estimate)

January 7, 2010

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

January 7, 2010

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 6, 2010

Last Verified

September 1, 2009

More Information

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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