Pattern of Compliance and Efficacy of Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Protocol for Treating Major Depressive Disorder Among Treatment Participants and Completers: A Report From Iran

INTRODUCTION: Since the introduction of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) intervention in 2008, a breakthrough has been made in treating major depressive disorder (MDD). However, many sessions of treatment and its cost make it inconvenient for those who seek treatment, especially in large cities as well as in developing countries. METHODS: A total of 22 patients (out of initial 24 referrals) who met diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, 4(th) edition (DSM IV) criteria for MDD were enrolled in the study. All subjects had to fail at least one prior treatment for depression. The patients received the FDA-approved protocol of high-frequency (10 Hz) rTMS over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. RESULTS: Seventeen out of twenty-two cases showed significant improvements after two weeks of treatment. Only six patients continued their treatments for the next two to four weeks. CONCLUSION: We have replicated other studies showing that the use of rTMS is effective for many patients with MDD without major side effects and their improvements are measurable mostly after two weeks. Our data highlight the importance of the application of more convenient protocols that require fewer sessions on fewer days to help with compliance and outcome, particularly in large populated cities and countries, such as Iran going through economic hardship. HIGHLIGHTS: Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is effective for treating major depresion. Improvemens are measurable after 2 weeks of treating with rTMS. Compliance is a major factorto for completing rTMS protocols. PLAIN LANGUAGE SUMMARY: Major depression is one of the most common psychiatric disorders leading to debilitating course causing significant burden for the society. Many cases with major depression are resistent to treatment as they try multiple interventions with no success. This condition is also called refractory depression. rTMS is a novel intervention introduced first almost two decades ago to treat refractory depression among some other psychiatric disorders. In this intervention pulses generated by magnetic stimulation over the brain leads to improvement is depression. As this treatment is safe with no pain and discomfort there have been much interest in the field to use it more frequently. rTMS is usually done over 15–30 sessions with its maximum effects appearing within the first two weeks of treatment. The number of sessions is a potential factor contributing to poor compliance in some cases especially those living in large metropolitan areas. In this paper we explored compliance and effect of treatment within the first two weeks among a group of patients in a private outpatient clinic of a large metropolitan area.