Journal: Brain Stimulation (2015)
Authors: Duffy W, Choudhry Z, Rajamani M, Nathan R, Siddiqui W, Waris M
Background:
Currently, pharmacotherapy is the first-line treatment for Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). However, review of clinical studies has revealed that 2/3 of MDD patients do not respond sufficiently to pharmacotherapy alone. This in turn, has a considerable impact on MDD patients’ overall wellbeing and Quality of Life (QOL). Furthermore, empirical data shows that this negatively impacts patients work/school performance, social, and family life. Deep Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (dTMS) has become the subject of many recent investigations as an alternative MDD treatment modality. Interestingly, very few studies to date have examined the improvement in QOL outcomes after dTMS treatment using H-coil technology in MDD patients.
Objective:
To review of QOL outcomes to dTMS in MDD patients.
Methods:
Twenty-one patients (65% female) with MDD, ages 18-84 years (mean=44.5) received dTMS therapy. QOL was assessed using the Sheehan Disability Scale (SDS) total score at baseline and post-maintenance phase. Patients received acute (20 sessions) and maintenance-phase (10 sessions) dTMS treatments. The effect of dTMS on QOL was evaluated using Repeated Measure ANOVA to contrast SDS – Total Score (SDS-TS) at baseline with post- maintenance treatment paradigm.
Results:
A significant therapeutic effect of dTMS treatment was observed in the over-all treatment (30 session) paradigm (p=0.001) which was assessed using Sheehan Disability Scale (SDS).
Conclusions:
These results highlight that dTMS therapy not only effectively treats MDD symptoms but also improves the patients QOL outcomes. However, further research employing a larger sample size is warranted to reach firmer conclusions.
