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Cited by 51Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation StudiesElectroconvulsive Therapy StudiesTreatment of Major Depression

Transcranial magnetic stimulation to reduce suicidality – A review and naturalistic outcomes

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Bozzay, Melanie L., Primack, Jennifer, Barredo, Jennifer, Philip, Noah S.·2020·Journal of Psychiatric Research
DOI 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2020.03.016PMC PMC7197489
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Abstract

Although there is growing interest in the use of repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) as a treatment for suicidality, efficacy data in this area, and knowledge of potential treatment mechanisms, remains limited. The first objective of this study was to systematically review clinical trial data examining the effectiveness of TMS as a treatment for suicidal ideation. Our secondary objective was to investigate the extent to which changes in suicidality are independent of improvements in depression in a clinical sample of veterans who received TMS treatment. In Study 1, we searched the Pubmed and biRxiv databases from inception until July 2019 to identify studies that examined the efficacy of TMS for suicidal thoughts and/or behaviors. Data regarding sample characteristics, treatment parameters, and results were synthesized from six randomized controlled trials and five unblinded trials (total n = 593). Our systematic review indicated that while TMS was consistently associated with reduced depression, its impact on suicidality is unclear. Interpretation of results related to suicidality were complicated by study design elements and modest sample sizes. In Study 2, we conducted a retrospective analysis of 43 patients who received care for depression in a neuromodulation clinic at a Veteran's Affairs hospital. Results found significant decreases in suicidal ideation, and depressive symptom change did not always account for improvements in ideation. Taken together, our literature review and clinic study indicate preliminary promise of TMS for suicide, and underscore the need for more fine-grained, suicide-specific TMS research.

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  • An analysis suggests that changes in SI may be statistically independent of depression outcomes.

    “Interestingly, an analysis suggests that changes in SI may be statistically independent of depression outcomes, underscoring the importance of studying SI separately from depression in contrast to many previous studies [77].”

    From Frontal Pole Neuromodulation for Impulsivity and Suicidality in Veterans With Mild Traumatic Brain Injury and Common Co-Occurring Mental Health Conditions: Protocol for a Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial (2024) · cites this paper as [77]

    The Discussion says the naturalistic data provide some indication that changes in suicidal-ideation frequency are partially independent of changes in depressive symptoms. The Results also report that improvement in depressive symptoms explained some variance in ideation improvement. The claim captures the tentative finding but omits the limits of partial independence and ideation frequency. (LLM, conf=0.84)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

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References 41 · Cited by 51

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Authors
Bozzay, M. L., Primack, J., Barredo, J., & Philip, N. S.
Affiliations
Brown University (US)
Corresponding author
Philip, Noah S.
ORCID
Venue
Journal of Psychiatric Research
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2020-06
Volume
125
Pages
106-112
ISSN
0022-3956 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1016/j.jpsychires.2020.03.016
PMC
PMC7197489
OpenAlex
W3014071089
Cited by
51
References
41
Citations by year
2026: 4 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 8 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 15 · 2021: 11 · 2020: 2
FWCI
0.80
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Journal of Psychiatric Research (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
  • U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
  • National Institute of General Medical Sciences
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Neurology › Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Studies
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Electroconvulsive Therapy Studies
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Pharmacology › Treatment of Major Depression
Keywords
repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation, suicidality, suicidal ideation, suicide prevention, depression, veterans, neuromodulation, therapeutic mechanisms
MeSH terms
Suicide Prevention, Humans, Retrospective Studies, Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation, Suicidal Ideation

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