Revue internationale de santé mentale et de psychiatrie

Retrospective Chart Review Comparing MeRT and Standard rTMS Depression Protocols

Maxwell W. Hand1* and Mark Liker2

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) has been widely explored as an effective therapeutic tool for treating a wide range of persistent difficult to treat neurological and physiological disorders. Currently, TMS studies are focused on intervening in cases of severe mental health disorders (Depression, OCD, PTSD, etc…). While there are an increasing number of studies which look at different applications of TMS, there has been little research on how different approaches compare across each modality.

This paper aimed to compare the effectiveness of two unique approaches in treating MDD with rTMS. Intermittent Theta- Burst Stimulation (iTBS) and Magnetic e-Resonance Therapy (MeRT).

Major Depressive Disorder patients who came in for treatment were given PHQ-9 assessments every week for the duration of their treatment session. The pre and post PHQ-9 scores were analyzed from both stimulation groups and compared. Nexstim NBT 2 TMS chair and coil used for all patients.

Both methods resulted with individually significant decrease in patient PHQ-9 scores, but there was no inter-method differences observed. Both protocols resulted in about 60% of patients experiencing significant reductions in PHQ-9 scores.

Retrospective comparison of these methods showed no significant difference in effectiveness in treating MDD. Both iTBS and MeRT TMS approaches reveal insight into the pathology of depression as a leading health concern. Further research should include larger numbers of patients as well as increasing the homogeneity of the population. No significant difference may point to the conclusion that we do not completely understand the complexity of MDD and should further investigate about the structural vs. functional aspect of this disorder.