The British Journal of Psychiatry (2007) 191: 441-448. doi: 10.1192/bjp.bp.106.034371
© 2007 The Royal College of Psychiatrists
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Antidepressant effects of augmentative transcranial magnetic stimulation

Randomised multicentre trial

UWE HERWIG, MD

Department of Psychiatry, University of Ulm, Germany, and Psychiatric University Hospital, Zürich, Switzerland

ANDREAS J. FALLGATTER, MD

Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Würzburg

JACQUELINE HÖPPNER, MD

Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Rostock

GERHARD W. ESCHWEILER, MD

Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Tübingen

MARTINA KRON, PhD

Institute of Biometrics, University of Ulm

GÖRAN HAJAK, MD

Dept. of Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University of Regensburg

FRANK PADBERG, MD

Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Ludwig-Maximilian University Munich, Germany

ANGELA NADERI-HEIDEN, MD

Department of General Psychiatry, Medical University of Vienna, Austria

BIRGIT ABLER, MD

Department of Psychiatry, University of Ulm

PETER EICHHAMMER, MD

Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University of Regensburg

NICOLA GROSSHEINRICH, Dip Psych

Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Ludwig-Maximilian University Munich

BIRGIT HAY

Institute of Biometrics

THOMAS KAMMER, MD

Department of Psychiatry, University of Ulm

BERTHOLD LANGGUTH, MD

Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University of Regensburg

CHRISTOPH LASKE, MD and CHRISTIAN PLEWNIA, MD

Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Tübingen

MELANY M. RICHTER, Dip Psych

Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Würzburg

MERTEN SCHULZ, MD

Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Rostock

STEFAN UNTERECKER, MD

Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Würzburg

ANTONIA ZINKE

Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Rostock

MANFRED SPITZER, MD, PhD and CARLOS SCHÖNFELDT-LECUONA, MD

Department of Psychiatry, University of Ulm, Germany

Correspondence: Dr U. Herwig, Psychiatric University Hospital, University of Zürich, Lenggstr. 31, CH – 8032 Zürich, Switzerland. Tel: +41 44 384 3375; fax: +41 44 383 4456; email: uwe.herwig{at}puk.zh.ch

Declaration of interest None.

Background Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) has been proposed as a new treatment option for depression. Previous studies were performed with low sample sizes in single centres and reported heterogeneous results.

Aims To investigate the efficacy of rTMS as augmentative treatment in depression.

Method In a randomised, double-blind, sham-controlled multicentre trial 127 patients with moderate to severe depressive episodes were randomly assigned to real or sham stimulation for 3 weeks in addition to simultaneously initiated antidepressant medication.

Results We found no difference in the responder rates of the real and the sham treatment groups (31% in each) or in the decrease of the scores on the depression rating scales.

Conclusions The data do not support previous reports from smaller samples indicating an augmenting or accelerating antidepressant effect of rTMS. Further exploration of the possible efficacy of other stimulation protocols or within selected sub-populations of patients is necessary.


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