Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) for Treatment of Height Phobics
Overview
- Phase
- N/A
- Intervention
- Not specified
- Conditions
- Phobia
- Sponsor
- Wuerzburg University Hospital
- Enrollment
- 47
- Locations
- 1
- Primary Endpoint
- Subjective Anxiety Symptoms
- Status
- Completed
- Last Updated
- 2 years ago
Overview
Brief Summary
This study investigates the beneficial effects of prefrontal brain stimulation (with a facilitating TMS protocol) before exposure therapy in acrophobic patients. The two exposure sessions were realized in virtual reality. Before and after therapy, the phobic symptoms were measured on a subjective, behavioral and physiological level. The placebo-controlled single blinded study includes 50 phobic patients, which were randomized into verum or sham TMS.
Investigators
Eligibility Criteria
Inclusion Criteria
- •Criteria for a simple phobia: specific heights
Exclusion Criteria
- •Objective tinnitus Involvement in psychiatric treatments Clinically relevant psychiatric comorbidity Clinically relevant unstable internal or neurological comorbidity History of or evidence of significant brain malformation or neoplasm, head injury Cerebral vascular events Neurodegenerative disorder affecting the brain or prior brain surgery Metal objects in and around body that can not be removed Pregnancy Alcohol or drug abuse history of seizures
Outcomes
Primary Outcomes
Subjective Anxiety Symptoms
Time Frame: 4 weeks
Change in anxiety questionaire (Agoraphobia Questionaire (AQ), subscale anxiety) from pre (baseline) to post therapy (week 4). The range of the scale is from 0 to 120. Higher values indicate higher anxiety symptoms. For the calculated changes from pre to post this means, that more negative values indicate higher symptom reductions
Subjective Anxiety in Height Situation (BAT), Differences From Pre (Baseline) to Post Therapy (Week 4)
Time Frame: 4 weeks
real life anxiety measurement by an behavioral approach test. Ratings on a 0-100 scale. Higher values indicate higher anxiety