ClinicalTrials.gg
RecruitingNCT05854706Updated May 11, 2023

The Effect of Theta-burst Stimulation on Serum BDNF

An interventional study of Theta Burst Stimulation in Gambling Disorder, sponsored by Taipei City Hospital. Recruiting at 1 site in Taiwan. Open to participants aged 20 Years to 65 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2023-05-11.

Sponsored by Taipei City Hospital · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment

From the registry’s dates

  • Primary completion was expected by Jun 2026, 5 months ago, but the record still lists the study as recruiting.
  • Started Apr 2023; still recruiting 3 years 6 months later.
Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
60
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
20 Years to 65 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

The goal of this clinical trial is to investigate the effect of theta burst stimulation for depression and serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in individuals with major depression. The main question it aims to answer is whether 10 sessions of theta burst stimulation can influence the serum level of BDNF.

Participants will be randomized into active group and sham group. Researchers will compare the level of BDNF in these groups.

Read the detailed description

There is an increasing evidence that the BDNF could be involved in the mode of action of antidepressants and, perhaps, of brain stimulation. Brain stimulation methods, such as electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) has been used to treat patients with severe depression and is reported to increase BDNF levels in blood. Numerous studies has demonstrated that repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) as an alternative to ECT, produced the most robust antidepressant effects, and is the most widely applied treatment protocol for major depressive disorder (MDD). Theta-burst stimulation (TBS) is a novel form of rTMS, and has recently emerged as a method with the potential to produce similar anti-depressant effects much more rapidly than traditional repetitive TMS protocols. It is presumed that BDNF mediates the therapeutic benefits of brain rTMS, but previous results are contradictory.

Specific Aims:

The study is a four-week randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled study comparing pre- and post-treatment serum BDNF levels of patients with MDD, who receive active or sham of prolonged intermittent TBS (piTBS) treatment.

Method:

During the four-week double-blind phase of active or sham piTBS treatment, piTBS sessions are scheduled daily in a 5-day sequence for 10 sessions over two weeks. Symptomatic ratings and serum BDNF measurement are administered at baseline (W0, before brain stimulation), at the end of Week 2 brain stimulation treatments, and at the two-week follow-up after the treatment (Week 4). Otherwise, the symptomatic changes are also evaluated at the end of Week 1 brain stimulation. The study include sixty patients with major depression and all participants are randomly allocated (1:1) to groups receiving either active or sham piTBS group. The aim of the present study is to explore the effect of piTBS therapy on serum BDNF levels and change of depression symptom rating scale, as well as their associations in patients with MDD.

02

Conditions studied

  • Gambling Disorder

Browse trials for

Keywords

  • Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor, Theta Burst Stimulation
03

In context

Gambling

158 studies on the registry are indexed under Gambling; 42 are open to participants now.

This study's planned enrollment of 60 is close to the median of 66 across 128 interventional studies indexed under Gambling.

Browse Gambling studies →

Lead sponsor

Taipei City Hospital is the lead sponsor of 57 studies on the registry; 9 are open to participants now.

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

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
20 Years to 65 Years
Sexes eligible
All
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. age between 20 and 65 years;
  2. fulfilling the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual version 5 () criteria of Major depressive disorder assessed by the Structured Clinical Interview

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Inability to provide or comprehend the study procedure;
  2. A major psychiatric illness including schizophrenia spectrum disorder, bipolar spectrum disorder, and major depressive disorder with psychotic features.
  3. A current diagnosis of substance use disorder except nicotine use disorder or the use of one to two low-potency benzodiazepine tablets for sleep impairment;
  4. Have known preexisting noise-induced hearing loss, concurrent treatment with ototoxic medications, or with cochlear implants.
  5. Unstable medical illness, including , uncontrolled diabetes mellitus, unstable cardiac disease or recent myocardial infarction, or cerebrovascular or cardiovascular risk factors that require intensive medical management
  6. On medications known to lower seizure threshold (e.g., TCA, bupropion, clozapine)
  7. Implants controlled by physiological signals, including pacemaker, implantable cardioverter defibrillator, cochlear implant.
  8. Metallic objects in the head, including stenting, suture.
  9. Elevated risk of seizure due to traumatic brain history, seizure history, and head trauma, intracranial lesion, and alcohol or benzodiazepines withdrawal syndrome, stimulant intoxication.
Terms in these criteria, in plain language(3)

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.

DSM diagnostic criteria

The American Psychiatric Association’s manual of mental health diagnoses. DSM-5 (2013, revised as DSM-5-TR in 2022) replaced DSM-IV, and some studies still name the older edition. “Meets DSM criteria for …” means diagnosed by that edition’s diagnostic criteria, usually by a clinician in an interview.

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.

Cancer (malignancy)

Malignancy means cancer. Criteria about another or earlier malignancy ask whether you have had a different cancer, usually within a set number of years.

Some are commonly allowed, such as treated skin cancers other than melanoma and early cancers removed completely — check the exceptions this study lists.

05

Study design

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

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Active arm

    Prolonged iTBS sessions are scheduled daily in a 5-day sequence for 10 sessions over two weeks

    Device: Theta Burst Stimulation

  • Sham comparator
    Sham arm

    Sham stimulation sessions are scheduled daily in a 5-day sequence for 10 sessions over two weeks

    Device: Theta Burst Stimulation

Interventions

  • DeviceTheta Burst Stimulation

    Theta Burst Stimulation

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Change in depression severity

    Measured by Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS)

    Time frame: Before intervention (week 0) and after intervention (week 2)

Secondary outcomes

  1. Change in brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF)

    Serum level of BDNF

    Time frame: Before intervention (week 0) and after intervention (week 2)

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

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on May 11, 2023, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT05854706
Lead sponsor
Taipei City Hospital
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
May 11, 2023
Start date
Apr 17, 2023
Primary completion
Jun 2026 (estimated)
Completion
Jun 2026 (estimated)
Last update
May 11, 2023

Study contacts

Hu-Ming Chang
Contact
DAU66@tpech.gov.tw
0978052951

Oversight

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

Interested in this study?

Eligibility is decided by the study team. Share this record with your doctor or contact the team directly.

Contact study team

Follow this study

Get an email when the registry record changes — status, dates, results — or when someone posts here.

Sign in to follow

Discussion

Questions and observations about this study, from anyone following it. Not medical advice, and not a channel to the study team — their contact details are on the registry record.

Sign in to join the discussion. Reading takes no account; posting does. You choose a display name, and a pseudonym is the default.

Nothing here yet. If you are running this trial, taking part in it, or weighing whether to, this is the place to say so.

Start the discussion