Brain Stimulation Treatments for Depression: How Do They Compare?

The growing use of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) has increased the visibility and acceptability of nonsurgical brain stimulation approaches to depression treatment. Covering multiple variants of rTMS, several techniques for administering electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), and new approaches such as magnetic seizure therapy and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), this network metanalysis using both direct and indirect comparisons of treatments is timely and clinically important.

The analysis covered 113 trials involving 6750 patients and 18 treatments and showed, in sham-treatment comparisons, greatest efficacy for bitemporal and high-dose right unilateral ECT, followed by priming rTMS, magnetic seizure therapy…