Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 12, 2025
MRI-guided dmPFC-rTMS as a Treatment for Treatment-resistant Major Depressive Disorder
Published on: August 11, 2015
Real-world treatment outcomes of transcranial pulsating electromagnetic fields as augmentation therapy for
Rikke Hedegaard Jensen1, René Ernst Nielsen2, Gustav Bizik2
1Department of Health Science and Technology, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark.
Background:
Treatment outcomes of patients who had received T-PEMF as an augmenting therapy at Aalborg University Hospital, Aalborg, Denmark, was evaluated.
Methods:
Patients diagnosed with unipolar depression or bipolar disorder who had received a self-administered 8-week T-PEMF series between November 2019 and April 2023 were included. Data were retrieved from the patients' records. The primary outcome was the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression 17-item version (HAMD17), both as a continuous measure and with proportions of response and remission reported.
Results:
A total of 57 patients (65.1 % females, 86.0 % unipolar depression, mean age, 48 ± 14 years) were included. Duration of current depressive episode was almost equally divided for <2 years (38.6 %), 2-5 years (38.6 %) and > 5 years (22.8 %). HAM-D17 decreased significantly from baseline (20.8 (SD: 3.3)) to week 8 (14.5 (SD: 6.2), p < 0.001). An episode duration of 2-5 years was associated with lower odds of response on HAM-D6 (adjusted OR = 0.15, 95 % CI: 0.03; 0.96, p < 0.05) and self-rated HAM-D6 (adjusted OR = 0.09, 95 % CI: 0.01; 0.99, p = 0.05) when compared to an episode duration <2 years.
Limitations:
This study is limited by a lack of a control group, limited controlling of confounders, small sample sizes, and an attrition rate of 29.8 % for the primary outcome.
Conclusion:
T-PEMF reduced depressive symptoms in a real-world clinical setting including patients with both unipolar depression and bipolar disorder. Receiving T-PEMF within the first 2 years of the depressive episode was associated with an improved outcome.
