Combined ketamine and transcranial magnetic stimulation for treatment resistant depression in the context of chronic OCD: a case report
Year: 2015
Type: article
Study design: Case Report
Abstract: Treatment resistant depression (TRD) is a major public health issue, with comorbid OCD contributing to the general medical costs and severity associated with TRD. Recent research has investigated the efficacy of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS and its variant rTMS) in ameliorating the symptoms of depression and OCD. Most studies have used TMS to facilitate electromagnetic stimulation of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, a region implicated in depression, or the supplemental motor area, a region implicated in OCD. However, it is difficult to achieve full remission with TMS alone. A parallel line of research has examined the effects of ketamine, an N -methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) antagonist, on both depression and OCD. A primary benefit of ketamine is that it provides short-term but rapid relief from certain grave TRD symptoms within approximately two hours. As of yet, little is known about the possible synergistic effects of combined TMS/ketamine for comorbid TRD and OCD. Thus, I report on the case of a 32-year-old male who presented with chronic OCD with somatic fixation, depression, and generalized anxiety disorder, who was treated with a novel combined TMS/ketamine treatment for 12 weeks. Measures of depression and OCD symptoms were administered pre and post treatment. The patient showed significant reductions in depression, but not OCD symptoms, which is consistent with previous research.
Author: Steven Richard Devore Best
Language: English
Subfield: Pharmacology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W2128270191