Trial Outcomes & Findings for rTMS Pilot for Anxiety (NCT NCT05306977)

Last Updated: 2023-04-21

Results Overview

Electromyography (EMG) startle responses were recorded from the left orbicularis oculi muscle using a Biopac MP160 unit (Biopac; Goleta, CA) via 15 × 20 mm electrodes (Rhythmlink #DECUS10026; Columbia, SC). EMG was bandpass filtered from 30 to 300 Hz, rectified, and smoothed using a 20-ms sliding window. Startle responses were scored as the peak (max during the 20 ms to 120 ms post-noise window) - the baseline (50 ms pre-noise window), and converted to t-scores with a mean of 50 and a standard deviation of 10 (tx = \[Zx × 10\] + 50). Greater t-scores mean larger blinks, which could be associated with greater anxiety, however there is no clinically relevent threshold. Noisy trials (baseline SD \> 2x run SD) were excluded, and "no blink" (peak \< baseline range) trials were coded as 0. To calculate APS within each timepoint, we subtracted the response during the neutral ITI from the response during the unpredictable ITI. T-scores represent the change from baseline to post stimulation.

Recruitment status

TERMINATED

Study phase

Target enrollment

5 participants

Primary outcome timeframe

Post stimulation

Results posted on

2023-04-21

Participant Flow

Participant milestones

Participant milestones
Measure	Pilot Arm Aims 1 and 2 of this project will be tested using a within-subjects design where anxiety patients will receive a 5-day course of accelerated 1 Hz rTMS (8x session x 600 pulses/session) to the right IPS. Open-label accelerated 1 Hz repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation: Patients will receive a 5-day course of accelerated 1 Hz rTMS (8x session x 600 pulses/session) to the right intraparietal sulcus. Subjects will receive a continuous train of 1 Hz stimulation. They will receive a total of 600 pulses per train. Trains will be separated by \~50 min rest intervals.
Overall Study STARTED	5
Overall Study COMPLETED	4
Overall Study NOT COMPLETED	1

Reasons for withdrawal

Reasons for withdrawal
Measure	Pilot Arm Aims 1 and 2 of this project will be tested using a within-subjects design where anxiety patients will receive a 5-day course of accelerated 1 Hz rTMS (8x session x 600 pulses/session) to the right IPS. Open-label accelerated 1 Hz repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation: Patients will receive a 5-day course of accelerated 1 Hz rTMS (8x session x 600 pulses/session) to the right intraparietal sulcus. Subjects will receive a continuous train of 1 Hz stimulation. They will receive a total of 600 pulses per train. Trains will be separated by \~50 min rest intervals.
Overall Study Withdrawal by Subject	1

Baseline Characteristics

rTMS Pilot for Anxiety

Baseline characteristics by cohort

Baseline characteristics by cohort
Measure	Pilot Arm n=5 Participants Aims 1 and 2 of this project will be tested using a within-subjects design where anxiety patients will receive a 5-day course of accelerated 1 Hz rTMS (8x session x 600 pulses/session) to the right IPS. Open-label accelerated 1 Hz repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation: Patients will receive a 5-day course of accelerated 1 Hz rTMS (8x session x 600 pulses/session) to the right intraparietal sulcus. Subjects will receive a continuous train of 1 Hz stimulation. They will receive a total of 600 pulses per train. Trains will be separated by \~50 min rest intervals.
Age, Continuous	29.4 years STANDARD_DEVIATION 5.2 • n=5 Participants
Sex: Female, Male Female	5 Participants n=5 Participants
Sex: Female, Male Male	0 Participants n=5 Participants
Ethnicity (NIH/OMB) Hispanic or Latino	0 Participants n=5 Participants
Ethnicity (NIH/OMB) Not Hispanic or Latino	5 Participants n=5 Participants
Ethnicity (NIH/OMB) Unknown or Not Reported	0 Participants n=5 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB) American Indian or Alaska Native	0 Participants n=5 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB) Asian	0 Participants n=5 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB) Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander	0 Participants n=5 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB) Black or African American	1 Participants n=5 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB) White	3 Participants n=5 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB) More than one race	0 Participants n=5 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB) Unknown or Not Reported	1 Participants n=5 Participants

PRIMARY outcome

Timeframe: Post stimulation

Population: Outcome measures. Anxiety potentiated startle (APS) contrasted between pre and post stimulation

Outcome measures

Outcome measures
Measure	Pilot Arm n=4 Participants Aims 1 and 2 of this project will be tested using a within-subjects design where anxiety patients will receive a 5-day course of accelerated 1 Hz rTMS (8x session x 600 pulses/session) to the right IPS. Open-label accelerated 1 Hz repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation: Patients will receive a 5-day course of accelerated 1 Hz rTMS (8x session x 600 pulses/session) to the right intraparietal sulcus. Subjects will receive a continuous train of 1 Hz stimulation. They will receive a total of 600 pulses per train. Trains will be separated by \~50 min rest intervals.
Anxiety Potentiated Startle (APS)	1.89 T-score (pre - post) Standard Deviation 3.54

PRIMARY outcome

Timeframe: Pre and post stimulation

Population: Aim 2: Outcome measures. Reaction time during the visual short term memory task (VSTM) contrasted pre and pot stimulation.

Visual short term memory task: This task has been adapted from Vogel \& Machizawa (Vogel \& Machizawa, 2004). On each trial, subjects see an arrow (cue) pointing to the left or the right. After a short delay, they see a bilateral array of squares that vary in color, location, and angle of rotation (memory array). Subjects are instructed to encode the squares in the cued hemifield (targets) and ignore the squares contralateral to the cued hemifield (distractors). After another short delay (retention interval), subjects see a single square (response prompt) that is either an exact match (same color/location/angle) or a complete mismatch (different color/location/angle). Subjects are instructed to indicate whether the square is a match or a mismatch.

Outcome measures

Outcome measures
Measure	Pilot Arm n=4 Participants Aims 1 and 2 of this project will be tested using a within-subjects design where anxiety patients will receive a 5-day course of accelerated 1 Hz rTMS (8x session x 600 pulses/session) to the right IPS. Open-label accelerated 1 Hz repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation: Patients will receive a 5-day course of accelerated 1 Hz rTMS (8x session x 600 pulses/session) to the right intraparietal sulcus. Subjects will receive a continuous train of 1 Hz stimulation. They will receive a total of 600 pulses per train. Trains will be separated by \~50 min rest intervals.
Visual Short Term Memory Performance (VSTM)	-58.6 msec Standard Deviation 495.1

Adverse Events

Pilot Arm

Serious events: 0 serious events

Other events: 0 other events

Deaths: 0 deaths

Serious adverse events

Adverse event data not reported

Other adverse events

Adverse event data not reported

Additional Information

Nicholas Balderston

University of Pennsylvania

Phone: 2157463058

Email: [email protected]

Results disclosure agreements

Principal investigator is a sponsor employee
Publication restrictions are in place