Pharmacologic Augmentation of TMS for Depression With D-serine (PAT-DS)

May 13, 2026 updated by: Joshua C. Brown, MD, PhD, Mclean Hospital
The goal of this study is to test whether combining D-serine with 30 treatments of a) iTBS and b) 18-Hz protocols will enhance clinical outcomes compared to rTMS with placebo (i.e., sugar pill). The investigators hypothesize that NMDA receptor activation via D-serine combined with repeated sessions of rTMS will produce greater clinical outcomes than iTBS with placebo and 18-Hz with placebo.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Consent Process:

After referral from the clinician, subjects will be contacted either by phone, by email, or in person, advised of the opportunity to participate in this study, and informed about what the study will entail. Subjects will give their own consent and will be over the age of 18.

Study Procedures:

All procedures may be available to all participants. If the participant agrees to take part in this study, the participant will be asked to undergo the following procedures during the experimental visit.

Clinical Measurement Initiative (CMI) Data: As part of routine clinical care, patients receiving TMS at McLean Hospital complete computerized clinician administered and patient self-reported assessments of clinical symptoms on admission and at interim and discharge points in their care. The computerized assessments are part of McLean Hospitals Clinical Measurement Initiative (CMI), which uses Research Electronic Data Capture (REDCap) software and a McLean-developed reporting module to generate individual patient reports used in ongoing clinical care and patient outcomes monitoring. The CMI was implemented in the McLean TMS program in May 2010. The investigators plan to conduct data analyses examining changes in TMS patient self-report of symptoms on the following standardized, validated surveys: Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology Self Report (QIDS-SR) and Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 which will be self-administered at treatment #1, #9, #14, #19, #24, #29, and #34, as well as clinician-administered Clinical Global Impression-Severity (CGI-S) at the point of consultation.

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS): TMS involves a procedure where parts of the participant's brain will be non-invasively (i.e. indirectly) stimulated by magnetic pulses. Repetitive TMS (rTMS) administered in the study does not differ from standard of care as practiced in the McLean Clinic. Therefore, all patients will receive standard of care treatment combined along with either placebo or d-serine, designed to enhance clinical benefits.

Visits:

All visits follow our normal clinical schedule:

Visit 1: Participants will first undergo a TMS consultation to determine eligibility to safely receive TMS and assess clinical appropriateness for TMS.

Visit 2-37: 30 sessions of rTMS sessions (10-20 minutes long) daily, Mondays through Fridays, excluding weekends and holidays.

Drugs to be used (dose, method, schedule of administration, dose modifications, toxicities), include:

D-serine, 80 mg/kg (max 7g), oral administration, will be advised to be taken 1-hour prior rTMS treatment day (Mon-Fri) for 6 weeks. Dosing is based on maximal plasticity at 80 mg/kg, and clinical dose-finding studies demonstrating that doses between 60 - 120 mg/kg were superior in clinical effectiveness to 30 mg/kg and were safe. The drug will stopped at the discretion of the study clinicians after evaluation and assessment of any signs of adverse effects or signs of clinical worsening.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

60

Phase

  • Phase 1

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 Backup

  • Name: Julia Tom, BS, MSN
  • Phone Number: 617-855-2678
  • Email: jtom1@mgb.org

Study Locations

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

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Clinical diagnosis of MDD
  • English-speaking
  • Adults aged 18-80
  • Must be able to swallow capsules

Relative contraindications/possible exclusion criteria:

  • Containing any implanted metal or devices
  • Current or previous seizure history
  • Active substance use that may significantly alter the seizure threshold

Any further safety clearances, and outpatient consultation opinions that are necessitated based on the answers to the screening will be obtained prior to moving forward with the study, as an already established practice within the clinic practice. In addition, any relative contraindications will be further reviewed according to Rossi et al.'s most updated safety guidelines for TMS.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Patients with pre-existing renal disease
  • Known allergy to D-serine, or with
  • Patients taking medications with known drug-drug interactions
  • Children
  • Pregnant or breast-feeding women

The investigators will not include children because prior safety and dosing studies excluded children. Although considered safe for TMS, the investigators will not include pregnant or breast-feeding women on the basis of unknown safety profile of exogenous D-serine for these patients.

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
Placebo Comparator: Placebo
Placebo and TMS
Device: TMS
Subjects will either receive iTBS using a Magventure TMS device or 18-Hz H1 TMS using a dTMS Brainsway device plus placebo.
Other: Placebo
The placebo is an inactive substance (e.g., lactose or cellulose) packaged to be identical in appearance, taste, and smell to the active study drug. Oral administration, will be advised to be taken 1-hour prior rTMS treatment day (Mon-Fri) for 6 weeks.
Active Comparator: D-serine
D-serine and TMS
Device: TMS
Subjects will either receive iTBS using a Magventure TMS device or 18-Hz H1 TMS using a dTMS Brainsway device plus placebo.
Drug: D-serine

D-serine, 80 mg/kg, oral administration, will be advised to be taken 1-hour prior rTMS treatment day (Mon-Fri) for 6 weeks. Dosing is based on maximal plasticity at 80 mg/kg, and clinical dose-finding studies demonstrating that doses between 60 - 120 mg/kg were superior in clinical effectiveness to 30 mg/kg and were safe.

Subjects will not be randomized into their TMS group and will either receive iTBS using a Magventure TMS device or 18-Hz H1 TMS using a dTMS Brainsway device. Subjects will have their TMS protocol/treatment determined at the time of consultation according to clinical appropriateness as is the standard of care at the TMS clinic at McLean Hospital.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Patient Health Questionnaire 9 (PHQ-9)
Time Frame: Through TMS treatment course, average of 6-8 weeks; taken at treatment #1, #9, #14, #19, #24, #29, and #34, an average of once per week

The PHQ-9 is a multipurpose instrument for screening, diagnosing, monitoring and measuring the severity of depression. The PHQ-9 test evaluates several factors that revolve around the criteria used to professionally diagnose depression under the current DSM-5. The total score is calculated and can range from zero to 27, with 27 being the highest and indicative of the worst outcome/severity.

  • A score of 20 or higher indicates that severe major depression
  • Scoring between 15 and 19 suggests that there is possibly moderately severe major depression
  • Scoring between 10 and 14 means that you may have a moderate severity depression
  • A score between 5 and 9 reveals that mild symptoms of depression appear to exist
Through TMS treatment course, average of 6-8 weeks; taken at treatment #1, #9, #14, #19, #24, #29, and #34, an average of once per week

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology (QIDS SR-16)
Time Frame: Through TMS treatment course, average of 6-8 weeks; taken at treatment #1, #9, #14, #19, #24, #29, and #34, an average of once per week

This scale is a self-report measure of depression. Questions in the QIDS - SR-116 correlate with the nine DSM-IV symptom criterion domains, including: Sleep disturbance (initial, middle, and late insomnia or hypersomnia) (Q 1 - 4), Sad mood (Q 5), Decrease/increase in appetite/weight (Q 6 - 9), Concentration (Q 10), Self-criticism (Q 11), Suicidal ideation (Q 12), Interest (Q 13), Energy/fatigue (Q 14), and Psychomotor agitation/retardation (Q 15 - 16). Severity of depression can be judged based on the total score as seen below of lowest to highest score values and their correlating severity. Higher scores indicating a worse outcome.

1-5 = No depression 6-10 = Mild depression 11-15 = Moderate depression 16-20 = Severe depression 21-27 = Very severe depression
Through TMS treatment course, average of 6-8 weeks; taken at treatment #1, #9, #14, #19, #24, #29, and #34, an average of once per week
Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7)
Time Frame: Through TMS treatment course, average of 6-8 weeks; taken at treatment #1, #9, #14, #19, #24, #29, and #34, an average of once per week
The Generalized Anxiety Disorder - 7 Item Scale (GAD-7) is a self-administered questionnaire designed for screening and measuring the severity of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). The GAD-7 consists of seven items that respondents rate based on their experiences over the past two weeks, with each item scored from 0 (not at all) to 3 (nearly every day). The cumulative score, ranging from 0 to 21, indicates the severity of GAD symptoms, with higher scores corresponding to greater anxiety levels. This simplicity in administration and interpretation makes the GAD-7 a practical tool for healthcare providers to quickly assess anxiety levels and monitor changes over time.
Through TMS treatment course, average of 6-8 weeks; taken at treatment #1, #9, #14, #19, #24, #29, and #34, an average of once per week

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Mclean Hospital

Investigators

  • Study Director: Kerry Ressler, MD, PhD, McLean Hospital

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.

General Publications

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 (Actual)

April 1, 2025

Primary Completion (Estimated)

December 26, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

April 1, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

August 12, 2024

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 9, 2025

First Posted (Actual)

March 14, 2025

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

May 15, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 13, 2026

Last Verified

April 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 2024P001927

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

The investigators will not share Individual Participant Data.

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

Yes

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

Yes

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

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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