Magnetic seizure therapy for unipolar and bipolar depression: An up to date systematic review.

BACKGROUND

Magnetic seizure therapy (MST) has emerged as a promising alternative to electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) for treatment-resistant depression. Previous systematic reviews and meta analysis already showed its primary results, however, there are no recent reviews updating these findings.

OBJECTIVES

This systematic review aimed to make an updated systematic review of MST on unipolar and bipolar depression.

METHODS

We conducted a search considering databases (PubMed/MEDLINE, EMBASE, Web of Science, Scopus). Studies were included if they investigated MST in human subjects for unipolar or bipolar depression, and not restricting to year or language.

RESULTS

Data resulted in 15 studies, corresponding to 300 participants that received MST. Most studies were pilot, open-label or secondary analyses (n = 12). Participants that received MST had a response and remission rates ranging from 26.9% to 72.2% and 11.1% to 61.1%, respectively. The most common stimulation regions were vertex and prefrontal cortex, with frequencies between 25-100 Hz and duration of 6-24 sessions (2-3 times a week). Few side effects were reported.

CONCLUSIONS

MST shows to be effective and well-tolerated treatment for depression. Larger, double-blinded RCTs with standardised mood, cognitive, and side effect assessments are needed to confirm these findings.