MOOD IMPROVEMENT FOLLOWING DAILY LEFT PREFRONTAL REPETITIVE TRANSCRANIAL MAGNETIC STIMULATION IN PATIENTS WITH DEPRESSION - A PLACEBO-CONTROLLED CROSSOVER TRIAL

Objective: Preliminary studies have indicated that daily left prefront al repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation might have antidepress ant activity. The authors sought to confirm this finding by using a do uble-blind crossover design. Method: Twelve depressed adults received in random order 2 weeks of active treatment (repetitive transcranial m agnetic stimulation, 20 Hz at 80% motor threshold) and 2 weeks of sham treatment. Results: Changes from the relevant phase baseline in score s on the 21-item Hamilton depression scale showed that repetitive tran scranial magnetic stimulation significantly improved mood over sham tr eatment. During the active-treatment phase, Hamilton depression scale scores decreased 5 points, while during sham treatment the scores incr eased or worsened by 3 points. No adverse effects were noted. Conclusi ons: These placebo-controlled results suggest that daily left prefront al repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation has antidepressant act ivity when administered at these parameters. Further controlled studie s are indicated to explore optimal stimulation characteristics and loc ation, potential clinical applications, and possible mechanisms of act ion.