Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 25, 2025
Individualized rTMS Treatment for Depression using an fMRI-Based Targeting Method
Published on: August 2, 2021
Trajectories of suicidal ideation during rTMS for treatment-resistant depression
Denghuang Zhan1, Elizabeth C Gregory2, Afifa Humaira2
1Non-Invasive Neurostimulation Therapies (NINET) Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada; Centre for Advancing Health Outcomes, St Paul's Hospital, Vancouver, BC, Canada; School of Population & Public Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Background:
rTMS is a safe and effective intervention for treatment-resistant depression (TRD). However, there is limited data on its specific impact on suicidal ideation (SI), and the trajectory of SI over the treatment course.
Objective:
This open-label clinical trial investigated SI outcomes and trajectories in patients with TRD receiving low-frequency rTMS (LFR) to the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC; N = 55).
Methods:
A latent class mixed-effect model was used to identify response trajectories for SI as well as core mood symptoms. Logistic regression analyses investigated risk factors associated with identified trajectories.
Results:
For each symptom domain, we identified two distinct trajectories during LFR, one tracking improvement (SI: n = 35, 60 %; mood: n = 29, 53 %) and the other tracking no improvement (SI: n = 20, 40 %; mood: n = 26, 47 %). Male sex, higher baseline anxiety, and higher baseline SI were risk factors for no improvement of SI; while higher baseline anxiety and benzodiazepine use were risk factors for no improvement of mood. Mediation analyses showed that anxiety was a risk factor for no improvement of SI and mood independent of benzodiazepine treatment.
Conclusions:
This is the first study to investigate trajectories of response to LFR to the right DLPFC. SI and mood improved with LFR in most patients but the severity of anxiety symptoms was a factor of poor prognosis for both. Nuanced characterization of SI response to rTMS may lead to critical insights for individualized targeting strategies.
