Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation to People With Cannabis Use Disorder (SToP-C-rTMS x CUD)

Substance Misuse To Psychiatric Disorders-Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation to People With Cannabis Use Disorder

This study is to explore if repetitive transcrinal magnetic stimulation (rTMS) with different stimulation schedules will be equally effective in reducing carving, frequency of cannabis use, and the severity of cannabis use disorder in participants suffering from cannabis use disorder (CUD).

The investigators assume the hypotheses as:

1. Multiple rTMS sessions can reduce craving for cannabis, severity of CUD, frequency and amount of cannabis use.
2. Different rTMS treatment schedules have differences in reducing the craving for cannabis and severity of CUD, and prolonging relapse of cannabis use.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Cannabis Use Disorder; Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation
• Intervention / Treatment: Device: Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 20
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Hong Kong
  • Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 000000
    • Queen Mary Hospital

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 65 years (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Able to read and communicate in English and/or Chinese SToP-C-rTMS x CUD
• Able to give informed consent
• Using cannabis or marijuana as the primary psychoactive substance of abuse
• Diagnosed with Cannabis Use Disorder according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 5th Edition (DSM-5) by the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-5 Disorders (SCID-5)

Exclusion Criteria:

• Age <18 years old
• Unable to read English or Chinese
• Unable to give informed consent
• Had been diagnosed with the following disorders, including neurodevelopmental disorders, DSM-5 defined substance use disorder greater than moderate in severity, and neurocognitive disorders
• Contra-indicated to have rTMS, including subjects with electronic and/or magnetic implants (e.g. pacemaker, implantable cardioverter defibrillator [ICD], cerebral shunts, cochlear implant, etc.), with metallic or mechanic fragments (e.g., screws, plates, stents, clips, etc.), pregnant, with any known or history of neurological conditions including cerebral vascular accidents, epilepsy, brain tumor or space occupying lesion, poorly controlled or unstable diabetes mellitus, and receiving unstable dose(s) of antipsychotics, antidepressants, benzodiazepines and/or anticonvulsants in the past 6 months

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

3

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: Arm 1; Subjects receive 20 rTMS sessions in 2 weeks	Device: Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation; rTMS using Magventure TMS system is delivered at the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex of consented subjects according to 3 different stimulation schedules.
Active Comparator: Arm 2; Subjects receive 20 rTMS sessions in 4 weeks	Device: Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation; rTMS using Magventure TMS system is delivered at the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex of consented subjects according to 3 different stimulation schedules.
Active Comparator: Arm 3; Subjects receive 20 rTMS sessions in 5 weeks	Device: Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation; rTMS using Magventure TMS system is delivered at the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex of consented subjects according to 3 different stimulation schedules.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
A change in amount of cannabis use	Subject's self-report on the amount of cannabis use (in terms of number of joints per day) at baseline to the amount of use at 2nd week, 4th week, 5th week, 3rd month, 6th month and 12-month post-treatment with rTMS	12 months
A change in frequency of Cannabis Use	Subject's self-repot on the frequency of cannabis use (in terms of number of times of use per day and/or per week) at baseline to that at 2nd week, 4th week, 5th week, 3rd month, 6th month and 12-month post-treatment with rTMS	12 months
Severity of Cannabis Use Disorder	A change in severity of cannabis use disorder measured by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) with severity ranges from 0 to 11 (maximum severity) from baseline to that at 2nd week, 4th week, 5th week, 3rd month, 6th month and 12-month post-treatment with rTMS	12 months
Severity of Dependence	A change in scorings measured by the Severity of Dependence Scale (ranges from a minimum of 5 to a maximum of 20) from baseline to that at 2nd week, 4th week, 5th week, 3rd month, 6th month and 12-month post-treatment with rTMS	12 months
Craving	A change in scorings measured by Marijuana Craving Questionnaire (ranges from a minimum of 17 to a maximum of 119) from baseline to to that at 2nd week, 4th week, 5th week, 3rd month, 6th month and 12-month post-treatment with rTMS	12 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Level of Anxiety	A change in severity of anxiety measured by Beck Anxiety Inventory (with a score from a minimum of 0 to a maximum of 63) at baseline to that at 2nd week, 4th week, 5th week, 3rd month, 6th month and 12-month post-treatment with rTMS	12 months
Level of Depression	A change in severity of depression measured by Beck Depression Inventory (with a score from a minimum of 0 to a maximum of 63) at baseline to that at at 2nd week, 4th week, 5th week, 3rd month, 6th month and 12-month post-treatment with rTMS	12 months

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: The University of Hong Kong
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Albert KK Chung, MBBS, Department of Psychiatry, The University of Hong Kong

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): September 1, 2022
• Primary Completion (Actual): March 31, 2025
• Study Completion (Actual): March 31, 2025

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: March 13, 2022
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 22, 2022
• First Posted (Actual): March 23, 2022

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimated): July 8, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 7, 2025
• Last Verified: July 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Cannabis; TMS
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Mental Disorders; Substance-Related Disorders; Chemically-Induced Disorders; Marijuana Abuse
• Other Study ID Numbers: UW21-656

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No