Background: Single-time non-invasive brain stimulation was carried out using the two-technique approach on a patient suffering from treatment-resistant depression. Five treatment sessions given at weekly intervals resulted in a significant improvement in the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 score for up to 6 weeks. The findings of this study could pave the way for a more efficient less resource-intensive time- and budget-saving technique of employing non-invasive brain stimulation for patients with treatment-resistant depression by minimizing the number of stimulation sessions.
Case presentation: A 67-year-old married non-Latino white American woman suffering from treatment-resistant depression received intermittent tetraburst stimulation in combination with transcranial direct current stimulation weekly for 5 consecutive weeks. Diagnostic transcranial magnetic stimulation showed an observable electrophysiological change. The patient reported a drastic improvement in Patient Health Questionnaire-9 score up until 6-week follow-up and expressed satisfaction with the treatment.
Conclusions: This case study suggests that a streamlined protocol for using non-invasive brain stimulation could prove more effective for patients and healthcare providers in terms of safety in comparison to the present guidelines.
Keywords: PHQ-9; TMS; Treatment-resistant depression; iTBS; tDCS.
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