An interventional study of active F8-coil delivered rTMS and active H-coil delivered rTMS in Smoking Cessation, Nicotine Addiction and Schizophrenia, sponsored by The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston. Recruiting at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 22 Years to 65 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-09-16.
Sponsored by The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment
Patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorder (SSD) will be exposed to active repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) from F8 coil or active rTMS from H coil for smoking cessation. Smoking and brain functional connectivity changes will be assessed at baseline, different stages of rTMS and/or follow-ups.
Neuroimaging studies suggest that high rate of smoking in patients with schizophrenia may be due to an overlap of nicotine addiction-related circuitries and schizophrenia-related circuitries, such that schizophrenia impacts some of the same circuitries that increase risks for severe nicotine addiction in general. Those identified overlapping circuitries have been linked to several key features of nicotine addiction and can be represented by resting-state functional connectivities. The investigators aim to develop a TMS method targeting special brain circuits that are both smoking cessation and schizophrenia-related. If the corresponding brain circuits were successfully modulated, the treatment efficacy will be significantly improved and schizophrenia patients will benefit from the TMS treatment of smoking cessation.
The F8 coil based rTMS is not FDA approved for smoking cessation at this point, the rTMS with H4 coil is FDA-cleared for short-term smoking cessation in the general population, its efficacy in SSD has not been evaluated. In this protocol, the investigators will compare them in patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders.
1,581 studies on the registry are indexed under Smoking Cessation; 198 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 50 is below the median of 164 across 1,423 interventional studies indexed under Smoking Cessation.
Browse Smoking Cessation studies →The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston is the lead sponsor of 897 studies on the registry; 214 are open to participants now.
Of its 173 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 142 (82%) have results posted.
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Exclusion Criteria:
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.
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.
Able to become pregnant: from the first period until menopause, unless permanently unable to through surgery (removal of the womb, or of both ovaries or both fallopian tubes).
Criteria for people of childbearing potential usually ask for a negative pregnancy test and for contraception during the study and for a time after it.
Ways of preventing pregnancy. “Highly effective” methods fail less than 1% of the time a year when used correctly — for example an IUD or an implant.
Criteria usually say which methods count and how long to keep using them after the last dose, sometimes for male participants too. Some studies accept a partner’s vasectomy if it was confirmed successful and that person is the participant’s only sexual partner.
A weakened immune system. It can come from an illness, such as HIV or some blood cancers, or from medicines that turn the immune system down, for example after an organ transplant or for an autoimmune disease; steroids at higher doses count.
Read whether the line is about a condition or about medicines, and which medicines and doses it means.
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.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Childbearing potential
Able to become pregnant: from the first period until menopause, unless permanently unable to through surgery (removal of the womb, or of both ovaries or both fallopian tubes).
Criteria for people of childbearing potential usually ask for a negative pregnancy test and for contraception during the study and for a time after it.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Contraception
Ways of preventing pregnancy. “Highly effective” methods fail less than 1% of the time a year when used correctly — for example an IUD or an implant.
Criteria usually say which methods count and how long to keep using them after the last dose, sometimes for male participants too. Some studies accept a partner’s vasectomy if it was confirmed successful and that person is the participant’s only sexual partner.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Immunosuppression
A weakened immune system. It can come from an illness, such as HIV or some blood cancers, or from medicines that turn the immune system down, for example after an organ transplant or for an autoimmune disease; steroids at higher doses count.
Read whether the line is about a condition or about medicines, and which medicines and doses it means.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Participants in this group will receive active F8-coil delivered rTMS.
Device: active F8-coil delivered rTMS
Participants in this group will receive active H-coil delivered rTMS.
Device: active H-coil delivered rTMS
Multiple trains of rTMS in a day, for multiple days.
Multiple trains of rTMS in a day, for multiple days.
Resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) from functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)
The strength of rsFC from fMRI is used to represent the brain activities that are corresponding to the TMS effect on smoking reduction/cessation.
Time frame: 1 month
Cigarette per day
Cigarette per day (CPD) is measured to index smoking reduction and cessation.
Time frame: 1 month
Fagerstrom Test for Nicotine Dependence (FTND)
Fagerstrom Test for Nicotine Dependence (FTND) represents the severity of nicotine severity.
Time frame: 1 month
nicotine/creatinine
nicotine/creatinine is a index of smoking status.
Time frame: 1 month
End-expired carbon monoxide (CO)
End-expired CO measure is an instant measure of smoking status.
Time frame: 1 month
Plan to share: No
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