Trial reportBMC medicine2024
Cognitive enhancing effect of rTMS combined with tDCS in patients with major depressive disorder: a double-blind, randomized, sham-controlled study.
Trial report in BMC medicine, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
20 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Transcranial Electrical Stimulation in Treatment of Depression: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.JAMA network open · 2025Pooled it
- Trial
- Efficacy of rTMS combined with tDCS in patients with major depressive disorder with anxiety: a randomised, double-blind, sham-controlled study.BMJ mental health · 2025Trial
- Cognitive Remediation in Patients With Bipolar Disorder: A Randomized Trial by Sequential tDCS and Navigated rTMS Targeting the Primary Visual Cortex.CNS neuroscience & therapeutics · 2024Trial
- Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Combined With Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation for Depression: A Randomized Clinical Trial.JAMA network open · 2024Trial
- Differential associations of childhood trauma subtypes with clinical symptoms, cognitive function, suicidal intent, and age at onset in Chinese patients with chronic schizophrenia.European archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience · 2026Article
- Interrelationships of childhood trauma, psychiatric symptoms, neurocognition, and insomnia in chronic schizophrenia: a network perspective.European archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience · 2026Article
- Exploring the impact of cognitive profiles on the response to magnetic seizure therapy and electroconvulsive therapy.Molecular psychiatry · 2026Article
- How Standardized Is Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Treatment for Depression? Large-Cohort Modeling Reveals Systematic Dosimetric Variability.Psychotherapy and psychosomatics · 2026Article
- Cost-utility analysis of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation and transcranial direct current stimulation as adjunctive therapies in Chinese patients with major depressive disorder.BMC psychiatry · 2026Article
- Perceived knowledge, attitudes, and practices of healthcare professionals toward the use of noninvasive neuromodulation technology in the treatment of cognitive disorders.BMC psychiatry · 2026Article
- Article
- Omitted Mention of and Reference to Related Study.JAMA network open · 2026Article
- Acute and long-term effects of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation in major depressive episodes: a systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of randomized sham-controlled trials.Research square · 2026Article
- Efficacy of perioperative repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation for postoperative depression in breast cancer patients: study protocol for a single-center randomized controlled trial.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Article
- Home-Based Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation for Depression: From Feasibility to Clinical Implementation.Neuropsychiatric disease and treatment · 2026Review
- Transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation for major depressive disorder: current evidence and future research directions.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Review
- From Immediate Impact to Enduring Change: A Transcriptomic Comparison of tDCS's Temporal Effects and Its Long-Term Equivalence with TMS.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Article
- [Research progress on combined transcranial electromagnetic stimulation in clinical application in brain diseases].Sheng wu yi xue gong cheng xue za zhi = Journal of biomedical engineering = Shengwu yixue gongchengxue zazhi · 2025Review
- Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation enhanced by neuronavigation in the treatment of depressive disorder and schizophrenia.World journal of psychiatry · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
23 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundCognitive dysfunction is one of the common symptoms in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD). Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) have been studied separately in the treatment of cognitive dysfunction in MDD patients. We aimed to investigate the effectiveness and safety of rTMS combined with tDCS as a new therapy to improve neurocognitive impairment in MDD patients.
methodsIn this brief 2-week, double-blind, randomized, and sham-controlled trial, a total of 550 patients were screened, and 240 MDD inpatients were randomized into four groups (active rTMS + active tDCS, active rTMS + sham tDCS, sham rTMS + active tDCS, sham rTMS + sham tDCS). Finally, 203 patients completed the study and received 10 treatment sessions over a 2-week period. The Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS) was performed to assess patients' cognitive function at baseline and week 2. Also, we applied the 24-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS-24) to assess patients' depressive symptoms at baseline and week 2.
resultsAfter 10 sessions of treatment, the rTMS combined with the tDCS group showed more significant improvements in the RBANS total score, immediate memory, and visuospatial/constructional index score (all p < 0.05). Moreover, post hoc tests revealed a significant increase in the RBANS total score and Visuospatial/Constructional in the combined treatment group compared to the other three groups but in the immediate memory, the combined treatment group only showed a better improvement than the sham group. The results also showed the RBANS total score increased significantly higher in the active rTMS group compared with the sham group. However, rTMS or tDCS alone was not superior to the sham group in terms of other cognitive performance. In addition, the rTMS combined with the tDCS group showed a greater reduction in HDRS-24 total score and a better depression response rate than the other three groups.
conclusionsrTMS combined with tDCS treatment is more effective than any single intervention in treating cognitive dysfunction and depressive symptoms in MDD patients.
trial registrationChinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR2100052122).
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.