Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Dec 14;11(12):e050098.
doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2021-050098.

Effect of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation on patients with severe depression: a study protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised clinical trials

Fang Han #  1 , Shuai Tao #  2 , Shanshan Liang  3 , Danyang Li  4 , Yutong Me  5 , Hongyu Fan  4 , Hao Wu  4 , Gaofeng Zhang  6
Affiliations

Effect of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation on patients with severe depression: a study protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised clinical trials

Fang Han et al. BMJ Open. .

Abstract

Introduction: Depression is characterised by easy recurrence, high disability and high burden, and antidepressant therapy is the standard treatment. However, its treatment effect on patients with severe depressive disorder has been unsatisfactory. Previous studies have shown that repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS), as a neurotherapy, can effectively mitigate the severity of depressive symptoms. Yet, more evidence is still required for TMS to treat severe depression. This study will be the first systematic review of the efficacy and tolerability of TMS for treating severe depression. We expect it to guide future clinical practice of TMS for the treatment of psychiatric disorders.

Methods and analysis: We will search for the randomised controlled trial (RCT) involving rTMS for treating depression in eight electronic databases, including PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library and Wanfang Database, from publication up to September 2021. We will define Improvement in depressive symptoms, the difference between pretreatment (baseline) and post-treatment as the primary outcomes. The difference between pretreatment and post-treatment changes in resting state fMRI will be regarded as the secondary outcomes. Quality assessment of the included articles will be independently performed according to the Cochrane Risk of Bias tool.

Ethics and dissemination: Ethical approval is not essential because there is no need to collect individual patient data. And this study will be published in a peer-reviewed journal.

Trial registration number: CRD42020211460.

Keywords: complementary medicine; depression & mood disorders; radiology & imaging; radiotherapy.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: None declared.

References

    1. Wang PS, Aguilar-Gaxiola S, Alonso J, et al. . Use of mental health services for anxiety, mood, and substance disorders in 17 countries in the who world mental health surveys. Lancet 2007;370:841–50. 10.1016/S0140-6736(07)61414-7 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Arensman E, Scott V, De Leo D, et al. . Suicide and suicide prevention from a global perspective. Crisis 2020;41:S3–7. 10.1027/0227-5910/a000664 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Gonda X, Petschner P, Eszlari N, et al. . Genetic variants in major depressive disorder: from pathophysiology to therapy. Pharmacol Ther 2019;194:22–43. 10.1016/j.pharmthera.2018.09.002 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Kok RM, Reynolds CF. Management of depression in older adults: a review. JAMA 2017;317:2114–22. 10.1001/jama.2017.5706 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Husain MI, Chaudhry IB, Khoso AB, et al. . Minocycline and celecoxib as adjunctive treatments for bipolar depression: a multicentre, factorial design randomised controlled trial. Lancet Psychiatry 2020;7:515–27. 10.1016/S2215-0366(20)30138-3 - DOI - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources