NCT03003156

50 Hz vs. 25 Hz Magnetic Seizure Therapy for Schizophrenia

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 18 (actual)
• Sponsor: Shanghai Mental Health Center · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years – 55 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

This trial attempts to investigate whether the dosage (frequency) has an effect on the treatment efficacy and cognitive outcomes of magnetic seizure therapy (MST) among schizophrenia patients. Half of the participants will be recruited to receive 25 Hz MST, while the other half will be recruited to 50 Hz MST.

Detailed description

Magnetic seizure therapy (MST) is likely to be an alternative options to electroconvulsive therapy (ECT).Widespread stimulation of cortical and subcortical regions is inevitable for ECT since the substantial impedance of the scalp and skull shuts most of the electrical stimulus away from the brain. Nevertheless, magnetic pulses are capable to focus the stimulus to a specific area of the brain because they can pass the scalp and skull without resistance. In Addition, electric current will penetrate into deeper structures, while magnetic stimulus are only capable to reach a depth of a few centimeters. As a consequence, MST are able to generate focus stimuli on superficial regions of the cortex while ECT can't, which may give MST the capability to produce comparable therapeutic benefits with the absence of apparent cognitive side effects. Though high dose (frequency) MST is gaining popularity, there is no evidences supporting its superiority over low dose (frequency) MST either on efficacy, safety, or seizure quality.

Conditions

• Schizophrenia

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
PROCEDURE	25 Hz magnetic seizure therapy	In addition to treatment as usual (TAU), participants were supposed to receive ten sessions of 25 Hz MST in four weeks, with three sessions per week in the first two weeks and two sessions per week in the following two weeks.
PROCEDURE	50 Hz magnetic seizure therapy	In addition to treatment as usual (TAU), participants were supposed to receive ten sessions of 50 Hz MST in four weeks, with three sessions per week in the first two weeks and two sessions per week in the following two weeks.

Timeline

• Start date: 2016-02-01
• Primary completion: 2017-02-01
• Completion: 2017-03-01
• First posted: 2016-12-26
• Last updated: 2017-05-05

Locations

1 site across 1 country: China