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Published on: August 11, 2015
A sham controlled study of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation for posttraumatic stress disorder
Bradley V Watts1, Barbara Landon, Alicia Groft
1Veterans Engineering Resource Center, White River Junction, Vermont 05009, USA. bradley.watts@va.gov
Background:
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a commonly occurring and often debilitating psychiatric condition. There currently is not definitive information regarding the efficacy of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) for PTSD.
Objective:
This study seeks to examine the efficacy of rTMS for PTSD.
Methods:
Twenty subjects with PTSD were randomly assigned to receive either 10 rTMS sessions delivered at 1 Hz to the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPRC) or 10 sham rTMS sessions to the same area. A blinded rater assessed PTSD, depressive, anxiety, and neurocognitive symptoms before treatment, after the treatment series, and during a 2-month follow-up period.
Results:
Trancranial magnetic stimulation delivered at 1 Hz to the right DLPRC resulted in statistically and clinically significant improvements in core PTSD symptoms and depressive symptoms compared with sham treatments. The effectiveness showed some degradation during the 2 months after treatments were stopped.
Conclusions:
This blinded sham controlled trial supports the efficacy of 10 sessions of right DLPRC rTMS delivered at 1 Hz for the treatment of PTSD symptoms.
