Zhongguo quanke yixue (Jun 2024)
Deep Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Combined with Escitalopram Oxalate in the Treatment of Depression: a Randomized Controlled Trial
Abstract
Background Depression is a common psychiatric disorder with limited treatment options. Deep transcranial magnetic stimulation (dTMS), as a new non-invasive neuromodulation technique, has been utilized in the treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD), but there is less evidence from clinical studies. Objective To explore the clinical efficacy of dTMS combined with escitalopram oxalate (Esc) in the treatment of depression, and provide further reliable data reference for dTMS in the treatment of depression patients. Methods A total of 73 patients with depression who attended Department of Psychiatry, Affiliated Hospital of Guizhou Medical University from December 2021 to January 2023 were selected as the study subjects and divided into the control group (n=35) and combined treatment group (n=38) according to the random number table. Patients in the control group were given Esc ( 10 mg per day in the first week and 20 mg per day from the second week for 2 consecutive weeks). The combined treatment group received the treatment of dTMS (left DLPFC as the stimulation target, 18 Hz, 120%MT, 1 980 times per day for 2 weeks, 10 times in total) based on the same treatment for the control group. The depressive symptoms and cognitive improvement of patients in the two groups were evaluated before and after the two weeks of treatments by Hamilton depression scale (HAMD), Beck Scale for Suicide Ideation (BSS), Montreal Cognitive Assessment Scale (MoCA) and the mean oxygenated hemoglobin (oxy-Hb) concentration in the prefrontal cortex measured by functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) based on the verbal fluency text (VFT) task. Results The actual completion of the trial was 30 cases in the control group and 31 cases in the combined treatment group. After treatment, the HAMD and BSS scores of the combined treatment group were lower than those of the control group, and the MoCA score was higher than that of the control group (P<0.05). After treatment, the HAMD and BSS scores of patients in the two groups were lower than those before treatment, and the MoCA score was higher than that before treatment (P<0.05). There was no significant activation of the prefrontal cortex after treatment in both groups. The improvement of depression symptoms and cognitive function in the combined treatment group was better than that in the control group. Conclusion The combination of dTMS and Esc can improve the depressive symptoms and cognitive function better than Esc treatment alone in depression patients.
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