Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation for the treatment of obsessive compulsive disorder: a double-blind controlled investigation

• Published in: Psychological medicine Vol. 37; no. 11; pp. 1645 - 1649
• Main Authors: SACHDEV, PERMINDER S., LOO, COLLEEN K., MITCHELL, PHILIP B., McFARQUHAR, TARA F., MALHI, GIN S.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge, UK Cambridge University Press 01.11.2007
• Subjects: Adult; Adult and adolescent clinical studies; Anxiety disorders. Neuroses; Biological and medical sciences; Brain; Double-Blind Method; Electric Stimulation Therapy - methods; Female; Humans; Male; Medical sciences; Mental depression; Middle Aged; Neuropsychological Tests; Neuroses; Obsessive compulsive disorder; Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder - therapy; Obsessive-compulsive disorders; Prefrontal Cortex - physiology; Prefrontal Cortex - physiopathology; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Psychotherapy; Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation; Transcutaneous Electric Nerve Stimulation; Treatment Outcome; Double blind study; Obsessive compulsive disorder; Treatment; Transcranial magnetic stimulation; Anxiety disorder
• ISSN: 0033-2917; 1469-8978
• DOI: 10.1017/S0033291707001092

To determine the efficacy and tolerability of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) as a treatment for obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) in a double-blind placebo-controlled study. Subjects with treatment-resistant OCD were randomized to rTMS (n = 10) or sham rTMS (n = 8) for 10 sessions of daily stimulation over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), with subjects and raters being blind to the treatment. Subjects were offered an open extension of up to 20 sessions of rTMS. The two groups did not differ on change in Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (YBOCS) or Maudsley Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory scores over 10 sessions, with or without correction for depression ratings. Over 20 sessions, there was a significant reduction in total YBOCS scores, but not after controlling for depression. rTMS over 20 sessions was well tolerated. Two weeks of rTMS over the left DLPFC is ineffective for treatment-resistant OCD.