Deep Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: Has Its Time Arrived?

Only 40% to 60% of patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) respond even partially to conventional treatments (cognitive-behavioral or behavioral therapy or medications), and access to and acceptability of surgery for deep brain stimulation are limited. Therefore, alternative interventions are of great interest. In this first multicenter study to examine safety, tolerability, and efficacy of deep transcranial magnetic stimulation (dTMS) for OCD, researchers receiving industry funding randomized 94 mostly middle-aged patients (59% women) with severe illness per scores on the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (YBOCS) and inadequate treatment response to active or sham dTMS.

Exclusions included additional axis I disorders and seizu…