An interventional study of Sham rTMS and Active rTMS in Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, sponsored by Hospital Center Guillaume Régnier. Completed at 1 site in France. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 65 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2025-10-06.
Sponsored by Hospital Center Guillaume Régnier · Not applicable, Interventional, and Other
This study will focus on the use of repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) as a treatment of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), which is a common illness that impairs quality of life and that can be hard to treat.
To precisely analyze the effects of rTMS on OCD, the investigators are going to plan a study comparing cerebral blood flow before and after rTMS treatment. The measuring will occur on the Orbito Frontal Cortex (OFC), whose role in OCD has already been shown by our team (Nauczyciel et al, 2014 in Translational Psychiatry), using Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Arterial Spin Labeling, an MRI method allowing to measure arteriola blood flow.
Our primary outcome is to show a significate difference between cerebral blood flow in OCD between one group of participants treated by rTMS and another one treated by placebo. The study will be double blinded with a placebo rTMS machine, monocentric and prospective, with participants suffering from OCD randomized between two groups.
Obsessive Compulsive Disorders (OCD) are a frequent and debilitating disease. Impact on daily life is usually important, with a high rate of mood and anxious comorbidities, such as Major Depressive Disorder occurring in half of these participants. The effects can be dramatic, leading to higher suicide rate in this population.
Guidelines for OCD treatment in France recommend the use of Serotonin Specific Recapture Inhibitors (SSRI) and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), if possible simultaneously. However, those treatments are responsible for adverse effects for the first and not easily accessible for the second. Consequently, a non-negligible number of participants still suffers from symptoms of OCD with a non-optimal treatment.
Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS), a noninvasive neurostimulation method, has shown its usefulness in the treatment of mental illnesses. It has been authorized by the Food and Drugs Administration in the United States for the treatment of OCD. It represents an alternative method for helping those participants, but pattern of modifications over OCD pathophysiology has still to be unraveled.
In order to precisely analyze the effects of Low Frequency rTMS (LF rTMS) on OCD, the investigators designed a monocentric, prospective, double blind study comparing cerebral blood flow (CBF) before and after a rTMS treatment. Measurements will be performed on the Orbito Frontal Cortex (OFC), whose role in OCD has already been shown by our team (Nauczyciel et al, 2014 in Translational Psychiatry), using Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) in Arterial Spin Labeling (ASL).
Inclusion criteria will be OCD diagnosis, age between 18 and 65, and the lack of counter indication to MRI and rTMS. Participants will firstly undergo MRI before treatment, along with a psychometric assessment. Participants will then receive a one-week rTMS treatment, with two sessions of fifteen minutes per day. Second MRI and evaluation will be performed 4 weeks after the end of the treatment.
Psychometric assessment will consist of MINI, YBOCS, CGI, MADRS, HAMA, and GAF, administered before and four weeks after treatment. The psychiatrist giving the assessment will be blind to the randomization of the patient, so will be the radiologist performing the MRI.
Our primary outcome is to show a significant difference between CBF in OCD in participants treated by rTMS versus participants treated by sham rTMS. A decrease of the CBF in the OFC is expected, in regards to the inhibitor effects of LF rTMS. This result will allow us to follow objectively the neurobiological effects of rTMS, developing the ability to plan more efficiently rTMS treatment for participants.
635 studies on the registry are indexed under Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder; 166 are open to participants now.
This study's enrollment of 30 is below the median of 45 across 520 interventional studies indexed under Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.
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Exclusion Criteria:
Related to MRI and / or rTMS:
Other criteria:
The investigators will perform sham rTMS at 30% of the Motor Threshold, with a 1Hz frequency and 1200 pulses during one session. The target will be the right Orbito Frontal Cortex, localized using Neuronavigation. Sessions will last fifteen minutes; subjects will perform two sessions a day during five days. The coil will have a 180° rotation compared to the active coil position, thus making the magnetic field ineffective on the patient's cortex. Participants will undergo a MRI with anatomical and ASL sequences one week before and four weeks after treatment. All participants of this group will have the opportunity to undergo an active rTMS treatment right after the end of each one's participation in the study.
Other: Sham rTMS
The investigators will perform active rTMS at 120% of the Motor Threshold, with a 1Hz frequency and 1200 pulses during one session. The target will be the right Orbito Frontal Cortex, localized using Neuronavigation. Sessions will last fifteen minutes; subjects will perform two sessions a day during five days. Participants will undergo a MRI with anatomical and ASL sequences one week before and four weeks after treatment
Other: Active rTMS
Participants will undergo sham rTMS for five days with two daily fifteen minutes rTMS sessions.
Participants will undergo active rTMS for five days with two daily fifteen minutes rTMS sessions.
Cerebral Blood Flow of the Orbito-Frontal Cortex from Arterial Spin Labeling Data
Comparison between the sham rTMS group and the active rTMS group will be analyzed from the ASL data about cerebral blood flow in the Orbito-Frontal Cortex. We expect to find a significant difference between the two groups four weeks after the treatment on the mean of cerebral blood flow, as raw data will be converted into numerical data for analysis.
Time frame: one measure four weeks after end of treatment
Score at Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (YBOCS)
YBOCS is a scale used to make an accurate and objective measure of the intensity of OCD symptoms for a patient at a precise time, ranging from 0 to 40 (maximum severity), analyzes will be based on each group's mean score.
Time frame: one measure before treatment, one four weeks after end of treatment
Score at Montgomery and Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS)
MADRS is a clinical scale used to measure the severity of depressive symptoms for a patient, ranging from 0 to 60 (maximum severity), analyzes will be based on each group's mean score.
Time frame: one measure before treatment, one four weeks after end of treatment
Score at General Assessment Functioning Scale (GAF)
GAF is a scale representing the functional abilities of a patient in his daily life and the way his illness potentially impairs his normal social, personal and professional quality of life, ranging from 0 to 100 (representing a normal fully functioning life), analyzes will be based on each group's mean score.
Time frame: one measure before treatment, one four weeks after end of treatment
Score at Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAMA)
HAMA is a scale used to measure the intensity of anxious symptoms of a patient at a given time, ranging from 0 to 60 (maximum severity), analyzes will be based on each group's mean score.
Time frame: one measure before treatment, one four weeks after end of treatment
Blindness Evaluation
Participants will pass an evaluation of their perception of the sham devices, which will allow us to analyze the masking strategy the investigators use considering this double blind study. A five propositions assessment will be used, ranging from 1 to 5 (1 representing the patient's certainty of being in the active treatment group and 5 representing the patient's certainty of being in the sham treatment group). Analyses will be carried using Bang's Blinding Index (Bang et al, Assessment of blinding in clinical trials. Control Clin Trials. 2004).
Time frame: measure will occur four weeks after the treatment, at the same assessment than clinical outcomes
Intra Group CBF Comparison
We will be using the ASL data to compare the evolution of cerebral blood flow in the Orbito-Frontal Cortex within each patient's brain.
Time frame: one measure before treatment, one four weeks after end of treatment
Score at Clinical Global Impression scale (CGI)
CGI is a scale used to give a clinical impression of a patient from the physician's observation, being able to evaluate if the patient's condition has worsened or improved between two evaluations, scores ranging from 0 to 7 (maximum severity or important degradation of the patient's condition), analyzes will be based on each group's mean score.
Time frame: one measure before treatment, one four weeks after end of treatment
Plan to share: Yes — Data about study protocol and clinical information will be available on request from other researchers. MRI raw data will not be shared but processed data is planned to be available.
Supporting information: Study protocol, Statistical analysis plan, Clinical study report
Time frame: Data will be available from the moment a scientific publication is accepted to 5 years later.
Access criteria: Access to data will be granted for researchers aiming to perform another analysis or to review the topic, or to perform a meta-analysis.
This study is completed, as verified in Oct 2025. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.
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