Multiple Treatment Study Using Low Field Magnetic Stimulation for Bipolar Depression (LFMS)

August 28, 2017 updated by: Michael Rohan, Mclean Hospital

Low Field Magnetic Stimulation in Mood Disorders: Three Daily Visits

Objectives:

To demonstrate the duration of the antidepressant effect of Low Field Magnetic Stimulation (LFMS)in subjects with bipolar depression.

Hypotheses:

Investigators expect subjects who receive LFMS to show significant mood improvement one week after the start of a three day course of daily stimulation as compared to subjects who receive sham LFMS.

Investigators expect subjects who receive LFMS to show immediate mood improvement over the first treatment as measured by the difference in pre and post-treatment PANAS+ ratings.

Investigators expect to show that LFMS will be well tolerated in a three-treatment protocol.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Low Field Magnetic Stimulation is an electromagnetic intervention being investigated at McLean Hospital because of its effect on symptoms of depression. It consists of pulsed electric fields that are induced remotely in the head by a portable coil. It has been observed to have mood elevating effects in depressed patients with Bipolar Disorder (BPD). These effects are immediate, occurring upon completion of a 20 minute treatment.

LFMS is unique because of its low electric field strength, and because of its high frequency operation, compared to other electromagnetic treatments. While other treatments such as Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) use electric fields equivalent to > 100-200 Volts/meter to affect the brain, LFMS uses <1 V/m. Such a low electric field strength indicates that another mechanism is activated by LFMS, and this provides a possibility for a new treatment. It may also give insight into causes of depression.

LFMS is also unique because it has an immediate effect. This immediate effect may have implications for emergency treatment.

The purpose of this study is to observe the response to LFMS in depressed BPD subjects with the aim of assessing the effects of multiple treatments, and of observing the duration of the mood improvement.To do so, the investigators propose to study 72 subjects in a protocol of three treatments in three days. Subjects will be rated before and after each treatment, and will return for mood ratings at one week after treatment. Investigators hope that this characterization of LFMS will allow clinical research groups to perform large trials and to evaluate its clinical effectiveness in patient populations.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

53

Phase

  • 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 Locations

  • United States
    • Massachusetts
      • Belmont, Massachusetts, United States, 02478
        • Mclean Hospital

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

21 years to 65 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. Subjects will be men or women between the ages of 21-65.
  2. Subjects must not have serious physical illnesses, neurological diseases or dementias.
  3. Subjects will meet DSM-IV criteria for Bipolar Disorder Type I or II and meet criteria for current depression (DSM-IV major depressive episode, current).
  4. Subject must have a MADRS >= 20, Young Mania Rating Score (YMRS score) < 7.
  5. Subjects must be capable of providing informed consent.
  6. Subjects must have an established residence and phone.
  7. Subjects may be medicated or unmedicated.

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Dangerous or active suicidal ideation.
  2. Pregnant or planning on becoming pregnant.
  3. Substance abuse (cannot meet DSM criteria for substance abuse, no significant drug abuse within last 3 months, no major polysubstance abuse history, no history of dependence in last year, no drug use within last month).
  4. Mania, hypomania or mixed mood state.
  5. Significant medical or neurological illness that might pose a risk to study enrollment or interfere with interpretation of study data.
  6. Changes in psychiatric medication (e.g. dose or drug) within 6 weeks prior to enrollment.
  7. History of schizophrenia, schizoaffective, obsessive-compulsive or post-traumatic stress disorders.
  8. Treatment resistant depression (as determined by the study psychiatrist; consistently and substantially symptomatic over several years despite electroconvulsive therapy, 2 or more adequate trials of a primary mood stabilizer with antidepressant effects (e.g., lithium, valproate or lamotrigine) or antidepressant medications (e.g., bupropion, Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRI) or Serotonin Norepinephrine Reuptake Inhibitor (SNRI).)
  9. Contraindications for Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI): Presence of a pacemaker, neurostimulator, or metal in head or neck.

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: Triple

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: LFMS - active treatment

Low Field Magnetic Stimulation (LFMS) active treatment

Active low field magnetic stimulation treatment applied with the LFMS Device; the device is on and magnetic field stimulation is present.
Device: Low Field Magnetic Stimulation
Low Field Magnetic Stimulation is an electromagnetic technique. It uses low strength electric fields operating at a high frequency.
Other Names:
  • LFMS
Sham Comparator: LFMS - sham treatment

Low Field Magnetic Stimulation - sham treatment

Inactive low field magnetic stimulation (no stimulation) treatment applied with the LFMS Device; the device is on, however no magnetic field stimulation is present.
Device: Low Field Magnetic Stimulation
Low Field Magnetic Stimulation is an electromagnetic technique. It uses low strength electric fields operating at a high frequency.
Other Names:
  • LFMS

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Long Term Change: Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS)
Time Frame: Variable based on screening visit schedule, > 2 weeks.
The Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating scale assesses 10 symptom areas of depression during an interview. Each of the 10 items received a score ranging from 0 to 6. The scale has a range of 0-60 for the reported total. A higher score indicates increased depression for all items and for the total. This outcome measure is the change from pretreatment baseline acquired at the screening visit to a follow-up visit 7 days after the first treatment.
Variable based on screening visit schedule, > 2 weeks.
Change Over First Treatment: Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) Positive Items Subscale
Time Frame: 90 minutes; change immediately (<30min) prior to the first treatment and immediately after (<30min) the first treatment.
PANAS consists of 10 positive and 10 negative valence word items. Items are rated by the participant to indicate their assessment of how they are feeling about this item "right now" on a scale of 1(slightly) or not at all through 5 (extremely). 10 of of the items form a positive affect subscale, in which a higher score indicates increased positive affect, with a subscale range of 10 to 50. 10 of the items form a negative affect subscale, in which a higher score indicates more negative affect, with a subscale range of 10 to 50. This outcome measure is change in the 10 item positive affect subscale. This outcome measure is the difference between the scale administered immediately (<30min) prior to the first treatment and immediately after (<30min) the first treatment.
90 minutes; change immediately (<30min) prior to the first treatment and immediately after (<30min) the first treatment.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Rate of of Change in Daily Improvement Over 3 Treatments: Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) Positive Items Subscale
Time Frame: Over 3 days of treatment
PANAS consists of 10 positive and 10 negative valence word items. Items are rated by the participant to indicate their assessment of how they are feeling about this item "right now" on a scale of 1(slightly) or not at all through 5 (extremely). 10 of of the items form a positive affect subscale, in which a higher score indicates increased positive affect, with a subscale range of 10 to 50. 10 of the items form a negative affect subscale, in which a higher score indicates more negative affect, with a subscale range of 10 to 50. This outcome measure uses the 10 item positive affect subscale. This outcome measure is the least squares fit of a linear coefficient to the three post (<30min oost treatment) minus pre (<30min pre treatment) score differences for the three treatment days
Over 3 days of treatment
Rate of Change Over 3 Treatments: Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS)
Time Frame: Over 3 days of treatment
The Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating scale assesses 10 symptom areas of depression during an interview. Each of the 10 items received a score ranging from 0 to 6. The scale has a range of 0-60 for the reported total. A higher score indicates increased depression for all items and for the total. This outcome measure is the least squares fit of a linear coefficient to the three pretreatment scores for the three treatment days
Over 3 days of treatment
Rate of Change Over 3 Treatments: Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) Positive Items Subscale
Time Frame: Over 3 days of treatment
PANAS consists of 10 positive and 10 negative valence word items. Items are rated by the participant to indicate their assessment of how they are feeling about this item "right now" on a scale of 1(slightly) or not at all through 5 (extremely). 10 of of the items form a positive affect subscale, in which a higher score indicates increased positive affect, with a subscale range of 10 to 50. 10 of the items form a negative affect subscale, in which a higher score indicates more negative affect, with a subscale range of 10 to 50. This outcome measure uses the 10 item positive affect subscale. This outcome measure is the least squares fit of a linear coefficient to the three pretreatment scores for the three treatment days
Over 3 days of treatment

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Mclean Hospital

Collaborators

The Depressive and Bipolar Disorder Alternative Treatment Foundation

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Michael L Rohan, PhD, Mclean Hospital

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

July 1, 2013

Primary Completion (Actual)

April 1, 2016

Study Completion (Actual)

April 1, 2016

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

July 23, 2013

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 21, 2013

First Posted (Estimate)

August 28, 2013

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

September 26, 2017

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 28, 2017

Last Verified

August 1, 2017

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 2012P002380

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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