NCT07727005Not yet recruiting
Effectiveness of Clustered Versus Tapered Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) as Maintenance Therapy Following Successful Acute rTMS Treatment in Patients With Depressive Syndrome
Effectiveness of rTMS as Maintenance Therapy; Clustered rTMS vs. Tapered rTMS
Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Last updated 27 Jul 2026
Brief summary (registry, in English)
The goal of this clinical trial is to compare two maintenance transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) strategies following successful acute theta burst stimulation (TBS) treatment in adults with depressive syndrome. It will also evaluate whether the two maintenance strategies differ in their ability to maintain the antidepressant treatment response over 24 weeks. The main questions it aims to answer are: Does clustered maintenance rTMS reduce the risk of depressive relapse or clinically relevant symptom worsening compared with tapered maintenance rTMS? Do the two maintenance strategies differ in depressive symptoms, global clinical status, psychosocial functioning, and MRI-based biomarkers over time? Researchers will compare a clustered maintenance rTMS protocol with a tapered maintenance rTMS protocol. Participants will: * Complete successful acute TBS treatment before study enrollment * Be randomly assigned to either clustered or tapered maintenance rTMS * Receive 20 maintenance stimulation sessions over 20 weeks * Attend clinical follow-up assessments every 4 weeks for a total follow-up -period of 24 weeks * Undergo optional multimodal MRI examinations at the Munich study site
- Status (registry)
- Not yet recruiting
- Study type
- Interventional
- Enrollment
- 100 (estimated)
- First submitted
- 21 Jul 2026
- Start date
- 1 Aug 2026
- Primary completion date
- 30 Sept 2028
- Lead sponsor
- Technical University of Munich
- Diseases
- Depression
- NCT number
- NCT07727005
What you commit to
- Study type: Interventional
- Planned participants: 100
- From 1 Aug 2026 to the primary completion date, 30 Sept 2028
- 1 site in 1 country
- Visits and tests: ask the trial team, the registry does not list them
Built from the registry fields of ClinicalTrials.gov. It describes the study, not your situation.
Who cannot take part
Copied verbatim from ClinicalTrials.gov and grouped by topic. Only the trial team decides who can take part.
Other illness
- Active substance use disorder (substance use within the past 3 months)
- Acute psychiatric or medical conditions that preclude study participation
- Additional exclusion criteria for the MRI component:
- \- Contraindications to MRI (e.g., non-MRI-compatible metallic implants or severe claustrophobia)
Other
- Non-response to acute TBS treatment
- Contraindications to transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) or theta burst stimulation (TBS)
Who the study is looking for
- Age ≥18 years
- Diagnosis of a depressive syndrome
- Completion of an acute treatment course consisting of 20 sessions of theta burst stimulation (TBS) over 4 weeks
- Response or remission following acute treatment. Response is defined as a ≥50% reduction in the Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) total score
- Remission is defined as a MADRS total score ≤10.
- Clinical eligibility for maintenance TBS
- Provision of written informed consent
Age in the registry: 18 years to - · Sex: All · Does not accept healthy volunteers
Sites (1)
Sites in registry order. Pick your city on the disease page to sort them by distance.
| Site | City | Country | Site status |
|---|---|---|---|
| TUM Universitiy Hospital, Department for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy Coordinator of this site? Confirm its status | Munich | Germany | Unknown status |
This page is information, not medical advice. Discuss any trial with your doctor.