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Status unknownNCT04872465Updated Jan 17, 2023

TBS Over DLPFC in Elderly Refractory Depression

An interventional study of TBS and sham in Major Depression, sponsored by Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital.. Status unknown at 1 site in Taiwan. Open to participants aged 60 Years to 85 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2023-01-17.

Sponsored by Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital. · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment

The sponsor has not verified this record recently (last verified Jan 2023), so the status shown — last known as Recruiting — may be out of date.
Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
60
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
60 Years to 85 Years
Sex
All
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Study summary

The study aim to examine the effect of Thea-burst stimulation over bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) among patients with LLD on mood condition and relevant biomarkers.

Read the detailed description

Thea-burst stimulation (TBS) is a novel form of rTMS, providing greater modulation effect on neural activity. So far, no study was conducted to use TBS as treatment in LLD. Therefore, we aim to examine the effect of TBS over bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) among patients with LLD on mood condition and relevant biomarkers. The study used a two-arm, parallel, double-blind, randomized, and sham-controlled design. We plan to enroll sixty patients with LLD, thirty for active intervention and thirty for sham-controlled group. An Magstim Rapid2 stimulator with eight-figure coil was used for stimulation. Location of brain area are based on bilateral DLPFC. 3-pulse 50-Hz bursts was given every 200ms (at 5 Hz) and an intensity of 80% active motor threshold was settled. We initially used cTBS (continuous TBS) over right DLPFC with 120-s train of uninterrupted bursts (1800 pulses) in each session per day. After that, we continuous use iTBS (intermittent TBS, iTBS) over left DLPFC with 2-s train of bursts was repeated every 10 s for a total of 570 s (1800 pulses). Each patient received daily stimulation for two weeks with total ten sessions. The primary outcomes were change of depression severity including response and remission rate. Secondary outcome were biomarkers related to depression. Assessments were administered at baseline, immediately after 5 and 10 sessions of stimulation, and 3 months after the completion of stimulation.

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Conditions studied

03

In context

Depression

8,057 studies on the registry are indexed under Depression; 1,641 are open to participants now.

This study's planned enrollment of 60 is below the median of 84 across 6,720 interventional studies indexed under Depression.

Browse Depression studies →

Lead sponsor

Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital. is the lead sponsor of 102 studies on the registry; 12 are open to participants now.

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

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Who can participate

Ages eligible
60 Years to 85 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

  • Aged 60 to 85 years
  • Major depression disorder
  • Under a stable dose of all psychotropic medication during the stimulation period.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria

  • Having any current psychiatric comorbidity or history of substance dependence.
  • Having active suicidal ideation currently.
  • Having severe physical illness, recent and/or current unstable medical disorders.
  • Having history of cancer or chemotherapy.
  • Dementia or MMSE\<24.
  • Having TMS contraindicated (seizure disorder, history of seizures, metal in the head, pacemakers, history of craniotomy)
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Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
Double (Participant, Outcomes assessor)
Enrollment
60 participants (estimated)

Study arms

  • Active comparator
    Experimental

    We initially used cTBS (continuous TBS) over right DLPFC with 120-s train of uninterrupted bursts (1800 pulses) in each session per day. After that, we continuous use iTBS (intermittent TBS, iTBS) over left DLPFC with 2-s train of bursts was repeated every 10 s for a total of 570 s (1800 pulses).

    Device: TBS

  • Placebo comparator
    Sham Comparator

    Participants will receive sham (placebo) TBS treatment the same as experimental group

    Device: sham

Interventions

  • DeviceTBS

    We initially used cTBS (continuous TBS) over right DLPFC with 120-s train of uninterrupted bursts (1800 pulses) in each session per day. After that, we continuous use iTBS (intermittent TBS, iTBS) over left DLPFC with 2-s train of bursts was repeated every 10 s for a total of 570 s (1800 pulses).

  • Devicesham

    Participants will receive sham (placebo) TBS treatment the same as experimental group

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, HAM-D

    The Ham-D is the most widely used clinician-administered depression assessment scale. The original version contains 17 items pertaining to symptoms of depression experienced over the past week. A score of 0-7 is generally accepted to be within the normal range (or in clinical remission), while a score of 20 or higher (indicating at least moderate severity) is usually required for entry into a clinical trial.

    Time frame: Change from baseline after 1, 2 weeks and three months

Secondary outcomes

  1. Beck depression inventory, BDI-II

    The BDI-II was a 1996 revision of the BDI. Participants were asked to rate how they have been feeling for the past two weeks. BDI-II also contains 21 questions, each answer being scored on a scale value of 0 to 3. Higher total scores indicate more severe depressive symptoms. The standardized cutoffs used as follows: 0-13: minimal depression; 14-19: mild depression; 20-28: moderate depression; 29-63: severe depression.

    Time frame: Change from baseline after 1, 2 weeks and three months

  2. Beck anxiety inventory, BAI

    The BAI, created by Aaron T. Beck and other colleagues, is a 21-question multiple-choice self-report inventory that is used for measuring the severity of anxiety in children and adults. The BAI contains 21 questions, each answer being scored on a scale value of 0 (not at all) to 3 (severely). Higher total scores indicate more severe anxiety symptoms. The standardized cutoffs are as follows: 0-7: minimal anxiety; 8-15: mild anxiety; 16-25: moderate anxiety; 26-63: severe anxiety.

    Time frame: Change from baseline after 1, 2 weeks and three months

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Study locations

1 of 1 sites recruiting
  • Department of Psychiatry, Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital
    Kaohsiung, 813, Taiwan
    Recruiting
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References and documents

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No

No publications or documents are linked to this record.

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Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Jan 17, 2023, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
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Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT04872465
Lead sponsor
Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital.
Responsible party
Che-Sheng Chu (Department of Psychiatry, MD, attending physician, Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital.) — Principal investigator
First posted
May 4, 2021
Start date
Jul 6, 2022
Primary completion
Jul 31, 2024 (estimated)
Completion
Jul 31, 2024 (estimated)
Last update
Jan 17, 2023

Study contacts

Che-Sheng Chu, MD
Contact
cschu@vghks.gov.tw
+886-7-3422121 ext. 72068
Che-Sheng Chu, MD
principal investigator · Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital.

Oversight

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

Not currently enrolling

This study is status unknown, as verified in Jan 2023. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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