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Efficacy of Accelerated Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation on Patients With Post-stroke Depression

Effect of Accelerated Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation on Depression Symptoms in Patients With Subacute Ischemic Stroke

Status
Completed
Phases
NA
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT06157333
Enrollment
24
Registered
2023-12-05
Start date
2022-02-07
Completion date
2023-07-11
Last updated
2023-12-05

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Post-stroke Depression

Keywords

Accelerated rTMS, Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation, Post-stroke Depression

Brief summary

The FDA approved repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) for patients with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) in 2008. The conventional rTMS protocol that has been used effectively for major depression is 5 days per week for 4-6 weeks. The accelerated rTMS protocol involves conducting more than one session per day. In the treatment of post-stroke depression (PSD); although the effectiveness of conventional rTMS procedure has been shown in many studies, there is limited data on accelerated rTMS protocol in which the number of daily sessions is increased. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the efficacy of accelerated rTMS treatment on depression symptoms in patients diagnosed with PSD and whose depressive symptoms persist despite medical treatment, by comparing it with sham stimulation. Question 1: Is accelerated rTMS an effective and reliable method in the treatment of post-stroke depression? Question 2: Is accelerated rTMS effective on quality of life, functional assessment and motor recovery in patients with post-stroke depression?

Detailed description

Objective: Depression is a complication that negatively affects the quality of life and functional recovery of stroke patients and is associated with increased physical disability, cognitive and social impairment. In addition to being resistant to pharmacotherapy, the side-effect profile of the drugs used in the treatment and the increase in stroke recurrence, increase the need for new alternatives in the treatment of post-stroke depression (PSD). Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is one of the treatment of interest in this field. In the treatment of PSD; although the effectiveness of conventional rTMS procedure has been shown in many studies, there is limited data on accelerated rTMS protocol in which the number of daily sessions is increased. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the efficacy of accelerated rTMS treatment on depression symptoms in patients diagnosed with PSD and whose depressive symptoms persist despite medical treatment, by comparing it with sham stimulation.

Interventions

The Magstim Rapid2 Plus Magnetic Stimulator (Magstim, Whitland, Dyfed, UK) device available in our center was used.

Sponsors

Ankara City Hospital Bilkent
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 75 Years
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

* Ischemic stroke in only one hemisphere is diagnosed by MRI, * Ischemic stroke within 1-6 months, * Diagnosis of major depression according to DSM-5 diagnostic criteria by a psychiatrist during post-stroke evaluations, * Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD) score of ≥8 as assessed by a clinical psychologist, despite receiving at least one antidepressant treatment, * Drug use should be stable for at least 2 weeks before accelerated rTMS treatment for depression treatment and no change in drug dose should be made for 6 weeks following treatment, * Mini mental test score ≥ 24

Exclusion criteria

* Known history of epilepsy, dementia, cognitive impairment, neurodegenerative disease, * İntracranial metallic implant (cochlear implant, brain pacemaker, drug pump, etc.), * Lesions in the brain due to vascular, traumatic, tumoral or infectious reasons, * Recurrent strokes, * Aphasia, * Alcoholism, * Pregnancy, * Cardiac pacemaker, * Patients diagnosed with psychiatric diseases other than depression

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD)The depression severity of the patients was recorded by the clinical psychologist before the treatment, at the end of the treatment and 4 weeks after the end of the treatment.The HAMD is the most widely used clinician-administered depression assessment scale. The original version contains 17 items pertaining to symptoms of depression experienced over the past week. By adding up the ratings, 0-53 points are obtained. 0-7 points indicate no depression, 8-15 points indicate mild depression, 16-28 indicates moderate depression, and 29 and above indicates severe depression. The version consisting of 17 items was used in our study, and the patients' response to treatment was evaluated based on these scale scores. At the end of the 2-week rTMS application period; A HAMD score of '7' or below is considered 'Remission', a 50% or more decrease in the HAMD score is considered 'There is a response to treatment', and a decrease of less than 50% in the HAMD score is considered 'No response to treatment'.

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Stroke Impact Scale 3.0 (SIS)Stroke Impact Scale 3.0 was evaluated by the experimenter applying rTMS before the treatment, at the end of treatment and 4 weeks after the end of treatment.It is a scale that evaluates the quality of life in hemiplegic patients and consists of 8 subsections (strength, hand function, mobility, communication, activities of daily living, participation, emotion and memory) and 59 questions. The patient is asked to answer each question on a 5-point Likert scale, considering the last week. A score of 1 indicates that the patient could not complete the item, and a score of 5 indicates that the patient completed the item without any difficulty. While evaluating, strength (4-20), thinking-memory (7-35), mood-emotion (9-45), communication (7-35), activities of daily living (10-50), mobility (9-45). Scoring is done separately for 8 subsections: hand function (5-25), participation (8-40). Total score is between 59-295. A low score indicates low quality of life. In addition to 8 subsections, there is a visual analog scale that evaluates the perception of recovery after stroke with a score of 0-100 (0: No recovery, 100: Complete recovery).
Brunnstrom StagesBrunnstrom Stages was evaluated by the experimenter applying rTMS before treatment, at the end of treatment and 4 weeks after the end of treatment.It is a test used to follow motor recovery after stroke. Movement patterns of hemiplegic patients are graded between 1-6.
Functional Independence Measure (FIM)Functional Independence Measure was evaluated by the experimenter applying rTMS before treatment, at the end of treatment and 4 weeks after the end of treatment.The general body functions of the individual are evaluated with 6 sub-main sections under the headings of four motor (self-care, sphincter control, transfer and displacement) and two cognitive activities (communication and social cognition). Each subsection contains articles in its own category. Motor functions are evaluated in 13 items and cognitive functions in 5 items, and the scale consists of a total of 18 items. Each item is scored using a 7-point Likert scale, with the highest score being 7 and the lowest score being 1, depending on the patient's level of independence in relation to the relevant activity. 1-2 points are considered dependent, 3-5 points are considered partially dependent, and 6-7 points are considered independent. By summing the scores of 18 items, a total score between 18-126 is obtained. A score of 18 points indicates that the individual is completely dependent, while a score of 126 indicates complete independence.

Countries

Turkey (Türkiye)

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026