Right prefrontal repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation in obsessive-compulsive disorder: a double-blind, placebo-controlled study.
OBJECTIVE
The efficacy of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) of the right prefrontal cortex for patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) was studied under double-blind, placebo-controlled conditions.


METHODS
Patients were randomly assigned to 18 sessions of real (N=10) or sham (N=8) rTMS. Treatments lasted 20 minutes, and the frequency was 1 Hz for both conditions, but the intensity was 110% of motor threshold for real rTMS and 20% for the sham condition.


RESULTS
No significant changes in OCD were detected in either group after treatment. Two patients who received real rTMS, with checking compulsions, and one receiving sham treatment, with sexual/religious obsessions, were considered responders.


CONCLUSIONS
Low-frequency rTMS of the right prefrontal cortex failed to produce significant improvement of OCD and was not significantly different from sham treatment. Further studies are indicated to assess the efficacy of rTMS in OCD and to clarify the optimal stimulation characteristics.
Alonso
P
P
Department of Psychiatry, Bellvitge University Hospital, Barcelona, Spain.
Pujol
J
J
Cardoner
N
N
Benlloch
L
L
Deus
J
J
Menchón
J M
JM
Capdevila
A
A
Vallejo
J
J
D000328:Adult; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009771:Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / Q000628:therapy*; D010919:Placebos; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D050781:Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D010919:Placebos