Background and Aim: Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is supposed to be not as effective in severe depression as it is in medium depression. We evaluated the treatment response to an ultra-high-frequency (UHF; 30 Hz) approach, which was used to maximize the rTMS efficacy in severely ill patients. Methods: 43 severely depressed patients were included in the randomized, double-blind study and received either rTMS with 30 Hz over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex or sham condition for 3 weeks as an add-on therapy to stable antidepressant medication. Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) and cognitive performance were evaluated before and after the intervention. Results: In the active UHF group, the HRDS score was reduced by about 7.2, whereas the sham condition showed a smaller reduction of the HDRS score with 3.9. However, lithium as a covariant was responsible for the outcome difference, not the group of stimulation. No adverse events were reported. Comparing the differences of both groups in the pre- and post-study performance in a trail-making test, a group effect for the UHF group that was not influenced by the lithium intake was observed. Conclusion: A 30-Hz left prefrontal rTMS in severely depressed patients was safe and no adverse events occurred. Due to a strong effect of lithium as a covariate, we could not demonstrate favorable antidepressant effects of the UHF stimulation compared to sham. However, we found an improvement of processing speed performance in the UHF group, which covaried with improvement of psychomotor retardation. Copyright (C) 2012 S. Karger AG, Basel
Introduction: According to the neurotrophin hypothesis, a brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) decrease has been postulated as a pivotal pathomechanism in affective disorder, and the treatment-associated increase in peripheral BDNF has been linked to therapeutic efficacy of antidepressant drugs and electroconvulsive therapy. However, in deep brain stimulation (DBS), a still experimental antidepressant treatment approach, this issue has not yet been investigated. Methods: We examine the long-term course of serum BDNF levels in a 64-year-old woman who is being treated with DBS of the lateral habenula for severe major depressive disorder. Results: Our main findings are a significant increase in BDNF serum levels following DBS of the lateral habenula and an inverse U-shaped correlation of depression scores and BDNF levels. Discussion: The data indicate that DBS, like other effective antidepressant treatments, may contribute to an increase in peripheral BDNF levels, which are thought to reflect central nervous DBS-induced neuroplastic changes. Moreover, our observations underscore the complex nature of disease-associated BDNF alterations. Their identification as either state or trait marker remains controversial and requires larger-scale longitudinal studies. Copyright (C) 2012 S. Karger AG, Basel
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