Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Meta-Analysis
. 2022 Jul;56(7):745-751.
doi: 10.1177/00048674211043047. Epub 2021 Aug 28.

The evidence is in: Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation is an effective, safe and well-tolerated treatment for patients with major depressive disorder

Paul B Fitzgerald  1   2 , Mark S George  3   4 , Saxby Pridmore  5
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

The evidence is in: Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation is an effective, safe and well-tolerated treatment for patients with major depressive disorder

Paul B Fitzgerald et al. Aust N Z J Psychiatry. 2022 Jul.

Erratum in

Abstract

Despite more than 25 years of research establishing the antidepressant efficacy of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation, there remains uncertainty about the depth and breadth of this evidence base, resulting in confusion as to where repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation fits in the therapeutic armamentarium in the management of patients with mood disorders. The purpose of this article is to provide a concise description of the evidence base supporting the use of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation in the context of the stages of research that typically accompanies the development of evidence for a new therapy. The antidepressant efficacy for the use of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation in the treatment of depression has been established through a relatively traditional pathway beginning with small case series, progressing to single-site clinical trials and then to larger multisite randomised double-blind controlled trials. Antidepressant effects have been confirmed in numerous meta-analyses followed more recently by large network meta-analysis and umbrella reviews, with evidence that repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation may have greater efficacy than alternatives for patients with treatment-resistant depression. Finally, repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation has been shown to produce meaningful response and remission rates in real-world samples of greater than 5000 patients. The evidence for the antidepressant efficacy of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation therapy is overwhelming, and it should be considered a routine part of clinical care wherever available.

Keywords: Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation; clinical practice guidelines; depression; evidence; guidelines; mood disorders; response.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

Publication types

MeSH terms

Substances

LinkOut - more resources