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Updated: Mar 16, 2026
Treating Clinical Depression with Repetitive Deep Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Using the Brainsway H1-coil
Published on: October 4, 2016
Effects of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation on the Hypothalamic-Pituitary Axis in Depression: Results of a Pilot
Vincent Meille1, Bruno Verges1, Laurence Lalanne1
1From the Department of Psychiatry and Addictology, University Hospital of Dijon, Dijon, France (VM, J-C C-G, BB, BT); the Department of Endocrinology, University Hospital of Dijon, Dijon, France (BV); the Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital of Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France (LL); Direction of Clinical Research, University Hospital of Dijon, Dijon, France (LJ); and the Department of Biochemistry, University Hospital of Dijon, Dijon, France (LD).
Abstract:
Some studies have reported that repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) applied to the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) is able to induce changes in the hypothalamic-pituitary axis in subjects with major depression. The causes of these neuroendocrine effects are unknown and deserve to be studied. The authors monitored neuroendocrine hormones in 15 subjects with major depression treated by 1-Hz rTMS on the right DLPFC and explored a correlation with mood improvement. Unlike previous studies, no changes in serum cortisol, prolactin, and thyroid hormone levels were found. However, the authors did observe short-term changes in growth hormone levels in nonresponsive subjects.
