Exploring a new personalized approach to treat depression
Project coordinators :
Emmanuel Haffen (Besançon),
Anne Sauvaget (Nantes)
Coordinating institutions :
CHU de Besançon, CHU de Nantes
Depression, aiTBS, biomarkers, remission, rTMS, MRI, SNT protocol, neuronavigation, antidepressant
- Budget : 1 M€
- Duration : 36 months
- Number : 22-EXPR-0006
The STIMaiTDEP project is based on the work of Stanford (SNT). They demonstrated that repeated Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) using high-dose theta-burst waves (aiTBS: accelerated intermittent Theta-Burst Stimulation) coupled with targeting of the left DorsoLateral Prefrontal Cortex (CPFDLg) determined via functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), was highly effective in treating patients suffering from resistant depression.
STIMaiTDEP aims to demonstrate the value of an innovative personalized therapy for depression, based on the SNT protocol and adapted for future routine application in France (5 aiTBS sessions per day for 10 days).
The aim of STIMaiTDEP is to characterize biomarkers associated with response to treatment, taking into account patients’ initial inflammatory profile.
The target area (CPFDLg) will be identified by neuronavigation on the patient’s anatomical MRI. The effect of aiTBS will be compared with conventional management, i.e. administration of antidepressant treatment (144 patients randomized into 2 groups). Effects will be compared at 4 weeks post-cure, then at 3 months, 6 months (assessment of remission), 9 months and 12 months (assessment of relapse).
Ultimately, STIMaiTDEP will lay the foundations for innovative medicine, with a personalized approach to treating depression using transcranial magnetic stimulation.
Nantes University Hospital