ClinicalTrials.gg
RecruitingNCT03417960Updated May 22, 2026

Accelerated iTBS for Post Partum Depression

An interventional study of iTBS in Post Partum Depression, sponsored by Medical University of South Carolina. Recruiting at 1 site in United States. Open to female participants aged 18 Years to 50 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-05-22.

Sponsored by Medical University of South Carolina · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment

From the registry’s dates

  • Started Jan 2018; still recruiting 8 years 9 months later.
Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
40
Allocation
Not applicable
Ages
18 Years to 50 Years
Sex
Female
01

Study summary

Study 1: The investigators are studying the feasibility and tolerability of 10x/day intermittent theta burst (excitatory) transcranial magnetic stimulation to the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex over the course of 6 days for women with post-partum depression. The investigators further aim to characterize the anticipated anti-depressant effect of this treatment paradigm.

Study 2: The investigators are studying the feasibility and tolerability of 12 sessions/day of intermittent theta burse (excitatory) transcranial magnetic stimulation to the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex over 5 days for women with post-partum depression. The investigators aim to compare the two different treatment schedules.

Read the detailed description

Study 1: This is an open-label study designed to investigate the feasibility and tolerability of a novel TMS treatment protocol to treat depression in women with post-partum depression. It is known that TMS can effectively treat depression. The FDA approved protocol lasts 6 weeks and is not feasible for many women with post-partum depression. The investigators are investigating a 6 day treatment for depression which may be more acceptable for this population. The investigators further aim to characterize the ant-depressant effect of this protocol in order to design a larger trial.

Study 2: In part 2 of this study, the treatment schedule is 12 sessions over 5 days that can be completed with 8. All other procedures, inclusion/exclusion criteria, and number of total pulses delivered is the same as study 1.

02

Conditions studied

  • Post Partum Depression

Keywords

  • post partum depression
  • theta burst
  • transcranial magnetic stimulation
03

In context

Depression, Postpartum

569 studies on the registry are indexed under Depression, Postpartum; 134 are open to participants now.

This study's planned enrollment of 40 is below the median of 104 across 454 interventional studies indexed under Depression, Postpartum.

Browse Depression, Postpartum studies →

Lead sponsor

Medical University of South Carolina is the lead sponsor of 874 studies on the registry; 166 are open to participants now.

Of its 131 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 104 (79%) have results posted.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years to 50 Years
Sexes eligible
Female
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.

Inclusion criteria

  1. Participants must be able to provide and function at an intellectual level sufficient to allow accurate completion of all assessment instruments.
  2. Participants must be over the age of 18.
  3. Participants must meet criteria for post-partum depression: a) onset of symptoms in the first year postpartum
  4. Participants must have a HRSD17 greater than or equal to 14 at baseline.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Participants must not be pregnant.
  2. Participants must not meet moderate or severe use disorder of any substance with the exception of Tobacco Use Disorder.
  3. Participants must not have current psychotic symptoms.
  4. Participants must not have a history of dementia or other cognitive impairment.
  5. Participants must not have active suicidal ideation requiring hospitalization or a suicide attempt within the past 3 months.
  6. Participants must not have any to receiving rTMS (e.g. metal implanted above the neck, history of seizure, any known brain lesion).
  7. Participants must not have any unstable general medical conditions.
  8. Participants must not have had eclampsia during pregnancy.
Terms in these criteria, in plain language(2)

Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.

Informed consent

Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.

You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.

Contraindication

A reason a treatment, test or procedure should not be given to a particular person, such as an allergy, another illness or a medicine they take.

05

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Not applicable
Intervention model
Single group
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
40 participants (estimated)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    iTBS

    accelerated iTBS to Left DLPFC

    Device: iTBS

Interventions

  • DeviceiTBS

    The investigators will treat post-partum depressed subjects with accelerated intermittent theta burst stimulation. iTBS will be delivered via a MagVenture MagPro100 and Cool-B65 coil. The investigators will use a standard resting motor threshold (rMT) determination to determine the TMS dose. Treatment will be delivered at 120% of the motor threshold. In study 1, the accelerated paradigm will consist of 10 such sessions separated by 15 minutes, for three treatment days per week. There will be 2 weeks of 10 sessions on each of three days for a total of six treatment days, divided by one treatment-free week between treatment weeks. In study 2, the accelerated paradigm will consist of 12 sessions per day for 5 total treatment days. Treatments will be delivered at the 10-20 EEG coordinate for F3 (approximating the left DLPFC), and will be found using the Beam-F3 method.

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Determine feasibility and tolerability of accelerated iTBS for postpartum depression. The investigators hope to retain >80% of recruited patients (feasibility) and reach a full treatment dose of 120%rMT in >80% of enrolled women (tolerability).

    Determine feasibility and tolerability of accelerated iTBS for postpartum depression. The investigators hope to retain \>80% of recruited patients (feasibility) and reach a full treatment dose of 120%rMT in \>80% of enrolled women (tolerability).

    Time frame: 7 days

Secondary outcomes

  1. Anti-depressant effect

    Determine the preliminary anti-depressant effect size of a course of accelerated iTBS for women with postpartum depression. We hypothesize that at least 30% of post-partum depressed subjects receiving accelerated iTBS will achieve a response (50% reduction in symptoms as measured on Ham-D) at 4 weeks.

    Time frame: 4 weeks

07

Study locations

1 of 1 sites recruiting
08

References and documents

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No

No publications or documents are linked to this record.

09

Timeline

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
ElapsedEstimatedEstimated, not yet reachedSimilar studies: half by the dot; the band is the middle halfHalf of similar studies reached it by the dot; the band is the middle half, from a quarter to three quarters

Started Jan 2018 (actual). Primary completion is estimated for Aug 2027, 115 months after the start.

Of 256 non-industry interventional studies with no phase under Depression, Postpartum, half reached primary completion within 23 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 11 and three quarters within 36. This study's planned 115 months is above that.

Counting every sponsor, half of 262 studies reached it within 23 months; a quarter within 11 and three quarters within 36.

How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.

Registered
Jan 24, 2018
First posted
Jan 31, 2018
StartActual
Jan 24, 2018
Primary completionEst.
Aug 30, 2027
CompletionEst.
Aug 30, 2027
Last update
May 22, 2026
What these dates mean
Start.
When the first participant enrolled; while estimated, when the study expects to open to recruitment.
Primary completion.
When the last participant was examined or treated to collect data for the study's main question, its primary outcome. A study that stopped early gives the date its data collection stopped.
Completion.
When the last participant's last visit took place, for every outcome, secondary ones and side effects included: the end of the study. Often later than primary completion, sometimes the same day.
Actual and Est.
Actual means the registry says the date has happened. Est. (estimated) is a date the sponsor plans or expects. It can still move, and the sponsor is expected to change it to actual once it has passed.
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on May 22, 2026, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT03417960
Responsible party
Kevin Caulfield (Associate Professor, Medical University of South Carolina) — Principal investigator
First posted
Jan 31, 2018
Start date
Jan 24, 2018
Primary completion
Aug 30, 2027 (estimated)
Completion
Aug 30, 2027 (estimated)
Last update
May 22, 2026

Study contacts

Lisa McTeague, PhD
Contact
mcteague@musc.edu
843-792-8274

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
Yes
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
Yes
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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