Maintenance treatment of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) for treatment-resistant depression patients responding to acute TMS treatment.

Abstract

A growing body of studies has demonstrated that acute transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) therapy for treatment-resistant major depressive disorder (MDD) has achieved significant antidepressant effects and can alleviate other related symptoms. However, MDD has a high relapse rate, and patients with depressive symptoms can relapse weeks or months after acute TMS treatment. The lack of necessary TMS maintenance protocols after completing acute TMS treatment with full remission might be one of the reasons for the high relapse rates in MDD patients. Thus, investigating post-TMS treatment maintenance guidelines is important for decreasing relapse in treatment-resistant depression patients who had initially responded to acute TMS therapy. Therefore, we recommend a scientific approach to decrease relapse in treatment-resistant depression patients who had initially responded to acute TMS treatment.