Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Improved Symptoms of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, but Also Cognitive Performance: Results from a Randomized Clinical Trial with a Cross-Over Design and Sham Condition.
OBJECTIVE
There is some evidence that repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is an effective method of treating patients suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Here, we tested the hypothesis that rTMS has a positive impact both on symptom severity and cognitive performance in such patients. Specifically, short-term verbal processing speed and flexibility were assessed.


METHODS
Ten patients suffering from refractory OCD and treated with standard medication were randomly assigned either to a treatment-first or to a sham-first condition. At baseline and after 2 and 4 weeks, symptom severity (experts' ratings) and cognitive performance (auditory perception, visual perception, short-term memory, and processing speed) were assessed. After 2 weeks, the treatment condition switched to the sham condition, and the sham condition switched to the treatment condition.


RESULTS
Under treatment but not under sham conditions, symptom severity reduced. Moreover, cognitive performance improved in parallel.


CONCLUSIONS
rTMS is a safe and efficient treatment for patients suffering from refractory OCD; symptoms and cognitive performance improved in parallel.
Research Center for Behavioral Disorders and Substance Abuse, Hamadan University of Medial Sciences, Hamadan, Iran.
Leila
L
Jahangard
Mohammad
M
Haghighi
Mehran
M
Shyayganfard
Mohammad
M
Ahmadpanah
Dena
D
Sadeghi Bahmani
Hafez
H
Bajoghli
Edith
E
Holsboer-Trachsler
Serge
S
Brand
D000328:Adult; D001288:Attention; D001307:Auditory Perception; D003071:Cognition; D018592:Cross-Over Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008570:Memory, Short-Term; D009771:Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D050781:Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation; D014796:Visual Perception; D055815:Young Adult