Beta Rhythm and Treatment Response Following Deep Transcranial Magnetic
Stimulation in Patients with Treatment-Resistant Obsessive-Compulsive
Disorder
Abstract
Introduction: Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) affects
1.1–1.8% of the population, and adult females are more likely to
suffer from it. Deep transcranial magnetic stimulation (dTMS) targets
the hyperactivity of the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex and anterior
cingulate cortex – two frontal brain networks implicated in OCD. This
study aims to identify a biological marker for beta rhythm that
correlates with the treatment response works following dTMS.
Methods: A total of 56 right-handed treatment-resistant OCD
patients (35 female and 21 male) were retrospectively included in the
study which were treated with FDA-approved dTMS protocol by using
H7-coil for OCD. The Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS) was
used before and after dTMS to determine the severity of OCD symptoms and
the responsiveness to therapy. To record the quantitative
electroencephalogram (QEEG), 19 electrodes were applied to the scalp.
Results: When controlling for sex and age, the Y-BOCS decline
rate was linked to higher pretreatment beta activity in the parietal and
occipital regions. In the second step of our attempt, we used stepwise
linear regression analysis to create a model to predict YBOCS decline
rate, age (beta = -0.284, p = 0.030) and pretreatment beta parietal
power band (beta = 0.312, p = 0.018) were the predictors.
Conclusion: Age and pretreatment parietal beta power bands may
be used as a biomarker for predicting response to dTMS therapy if
confirmed by further studies.