Safety, tolerability and preliminary evidence for antidepressant efficacy of theta-burst transcranial magnetic stimulation in patients with major depression

The aim of this open study was to evaluate the safety and tolerability of theta-burst transcranial magnetic stimulation (TBS) and to assess preliminarily its therapeutic efficacy in patients with major depression. A total of 33 patients were assigned to receive one of four TBS protocols for 10 consecutive work days. TBS consisted of triple-pulse 50-Hz bursts given at a rate of 5 Hz to the left or right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex at different stimulation parameters. Severity of depression was assessed by the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale. Our results indicate that TBS as applied in this study is safe and well tolerated in depressed patients and seems to have antidepressant properties. Increase of stimulation parameters is not associated with more side-effects and adds to its therapeutic effect.