Exercise + brain zaps: new hope for stubborn depression?
NCT ID NCT06773949
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study tests if adding structured exercise to a brain stimulation treatment called iTBS can help people with depression that hasn't improved with medication. Twenty physically inactive adults with difficult-to-treat depression will either get iTBS alone or iTBS plus exercise. The goal is to see if the combination is feasible and more effective at reducing depressive symptoms.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
-
Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
-
About 20 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Expected to start
-
Dec 2025
An estimate. Start dates often move.
- Expected to finish
-
Jan 2027
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
-
Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
-
18 to 75 years
- Sex
-
Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
-
Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: 1. Are between 18-75 years old. 2. Able to provide voluntary informed consent. 3. Diagnosis of MDD or Persistent Depressive Disorder, without psychotic features, confirmed by MINI for DSM-5. 4. Depressive symptoms have not improved after ≥ 1 adequate antidepressant trial in the current episode (i.e., difficult-to-treat MDD), based on the Antidepressant Treatment History Form (ATHF). 5. Baseline score of ≥15 on the HRSD-17. 6. No change in psychotropic medications or psychotherapy regimen at least 4 weeks prior to entering the trial 7. Physically inactive as per the International Physical Activity Questionnaire - Short Form (IPAQ-SF). 8. Able to engage in structured exercise as per the Get Active Questionnaire (GAQ). 9. Able to adhere to the proposed treatment schedule. Exclusion Criteria: 1. Diagnosis of bipolar I or II disorder, based on DSM-5 criteria. 2. Current or past (\<3 months) substance (excluding caffeine or nicotine) or alcohol abuse/dependence, as defined in DSM-5 criteria. 3. Current use of illegal substances. 4. Current use of cannabis. 5. Concomitant major unstable medical or neurologic illness (e.g., uncontrolled diabetes or renal dysfunction). 6. Organic cause of the depressive symptoms (e.g. thyroid dysfunctions), determined by the referring physician. 7. Acute suicidality or threat to life from self-neglect. 8. Pregnant or breastfeeding, or thinking of becoming pregnant during course of treatment. 9. Contraindication for TMS and MRI (e.g., personal history of epilepsy or seizure, metallic head implant, pacemaker), confirmed by TMS Adult Safety Scale (TASS) and MRI pre-screener. 10. Unwilling to maintain current psychotropic medication and/or psychotherapy regimen for the four weeks prior to and for the duration of the study. 11. Taking more than 1 mg/day of lorazepam or equivalent. 12. Any other condition that, in the opinion of the investigators which would adversely affect the participant's ability to complete the study. 13. Physically active: performing exercise and/or physical activity levels meeting the cut-off for "minimally active" on the IPAQ-SF.
Get updates
Get notified about this study
Sign up to get updates when this study changes or when new studies for Major depressive disorder (MDD) are added.
By submitting, you agree to our Terms of use
Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
-
The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
-
The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
-
A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
-
Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre
RECRUITINGOttawa, Ontario, k1z 7k4, Canada
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
- Can a structured care pathway lift teen depression in primary care?
- Can Anti-Inflammatory drugs lift depression that Won't budge?
- A brain stimulation trial aims to rewire the circuit behind depression
- Can pairing ketamine with talk therapy beat depression alone?
- Genetic matchmaking for antidepressants: a global trial puts personalization to the test
- Could a common vitamin lift depression in young people?