BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to extend our previous work on the therapeutic efficacy of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) in major depression to patients with schizophrenia. METHODS:Thirty-five inpatients with schizophrenia were randomly assigned to either right prefrontal rTMS or sham treatment and were rated before and after treatment for positive, negative, and depressive symptoms. RESULTS:Thirty-one subjects (rTMS = 16, sham = 15) completed a 2-week treatment protocol. No serious adverse effects were reported; however, rTMS was not superior to sham treatment on any of the clinical ratings. CONCLUSIONS: In contrast to our previous positive findings in major depression, right prefrontal slow rTMS does not appear to have a beneficial effect for actively psychotic patients with schizophrenia.
RCT Entities:
BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to extend our previous work on the therapeutic efficacy of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) in major depression to patients with schizophrenia. METHODS: Thirty-five inpatients with schizophrenia were randomly assigned to either right prefrontal rTMS or sham treatment and were rated before and after treatment for positive, negative, and depressive symptoms. RESULTS: Thirty-one subjects (rTMS = 16, sham = 15) completed a 2-week treatment protocol. No serious adverse effects were reported; however, rTMS was not superior to sham treatment on any of the clinical ratings. CONCLUSIONS: In contrast to our previous positive findings in major depression, right prefrontal slow rTMS does not appear to have a beneficial effect for actively psychoticpatients with schizophrenia.
Authors: Daniel M Blumberger; Jerome J Maller; Lauren Thomson; Benoit H Mulsant; Tarek K Rajji; Missy Maher; Patrick E Brown; Jonathan Downar; Fidel Vila-Rodriguez; Paul B Fitzgerald; Zafiris J Daskalakis Journal: J Psychiatry Neurosci Date: 2016-06 Impact factor: 6.186