Deep Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation for OCD Likely to Ease Depressive Symptoms
Patients who received deep transcranial magnetic stimulation (dTMS) for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) showed a significant improvement in both OCD and depressive symptoms, according to a study published in the Journal of Affective Disorders.
The study was a secondary analysis of data for 94 patients with treatment-refractory OCD from a previous trial that randomized participants to either a 6-week course of dTMS or sham treatment. Researchers were interested in whether dTMS concurrently improved depressive symptoms, even if they were not the primary target of the intervention.
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“Studies examining the temporal or mediational relationships of OCD and depressive symptoms have indicated a bidirectional relationship, as prior levels of OCD symptoms influenced subsequent levels of depression, and vice versa,” explained corresponding author Orri Smárason of the University of Iceland in Reykjavik and Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, and coauthors in the study background.
The analysis used a random intercept cross-lagged panel model to examine the temporal precedence of change in OCD symptoms and depressive symptoms, as well as the other way around, during treatment and at a 4-week follow up.
Both during and after treatment, OCD and depressive symptoms improved significantly, according to the study. Nevertheless, a stable, causal influence of one variable over the other was not supported.
“Changes in one symptom domain could not be used to predict the other,” researchers wrote.
The study had several limitations, including a possible lack of power to detect the effects of interest. Consequently, researchers deemed the separate investigation of the dTMS and sham groups not feasible.
“When treating OCD with dTMS, depression symptoms appear likely to diminish but should be monitored throughout,” researchers concluded, “and additional interventions applied if needed.”
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