Boost rTMS for Auditory Verbal Hallucinations

Launched by NORTHWELL HEALTH · May 21, 2018

Keywords

ClinConnect Summary

Auditory verbal hallucinations affect up to 70% of schizophrenia patients (Waters, 2012), yet, even extended antipsychotic medication does not ameliorate AVH in 20-30% of patients (Sukhwinder S Shergill et al., 2007) and is often accompanied by side effects (Leucht et al., 2009). Therefore, it is crucial to develop and assess promising potentially beneficial therapeutic options.

Non-invasive brain stimulation techniques like repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) have been proposed to disrupt mechanisms in question. A number of meta-analyses (Aleman, Sommer, \& Kahn, 2007; Dem...

Gender

ALL

Eligibility criteria

• Inclusion Criteria:
• • 1. Provision of signed and dated informed consent form
• • 2. Stated willingness to comply with all study procedures and availability for the duration of the study
• • 3. Male or female, aged 18 to 65
• • 4. Diagnosed with Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) V diagnosis of schizophrenia (295.90), schizoaffective disorder (295.70), or brief psychotic disorder (298.80), prone to AVH in the acute phases of the disorder
• • 5. Willing to adhere to the rTMS regimen
• • 6. No antipsychotic medication in the last two weeks prior to the start of the study as well as no antipsychotic medication during participation in the study
• • 7. Agreement to adhere to Lifestyle Considerations throughout study duration
• Exclusion Criteria:
• • 1. Current use of antipsychotic medication within the last 2 weeks
• • 2. Electroconvulsive therapy or rTMS within three months (see the TMS screening questionnaire)
• • 3. History of seizures
• • 4. Presence of implanted electronic device or metal implant in the head and neck region (DBS, cochlear implant, etc.)
• • 5. Pregnancy, as assessed with a pregnancy test prior to every MRI measurement, or lactation
• • 6. Any active general medical condition or central nervous system disease which can affect cognition or response to treatment
• • 7. Treatment with another investigational drug or other intervention within 2 weeks
• • 8. Current diagnosis of delirium, dementia, or amnestic amnesiac disorder; Diagnosis of mental retardation; Current (within the past three months) diagnosis of active substance dependence, or active substance abuse within the past week as indicated by self-report.
• • 9. Patients who are cognitively impaired and are thus not able to give informed consent