Could 5 days of brain zaps ease OCD?
NCT ID NCT07198594
First seen Jun 26, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This study tests a new, faster version of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Twenty adults with OCD who haven't improved enough with standard treatments will receive six TMS sessions each day for five days. The goal is to see if this approach safely reduces OCD symptoms and to understand how it affects the brain.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- accelerated repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) targeting the inferior frontal cortex
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could offer a faster, non-drug treatment option for people with OCD who haven't responded well to standard therapies.
- What could go wrong
- This is a very small early study with only 20 participants, so results may not apply to everyone. The treatment is intense (6 sessions daily) and side effects are still being studied.
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.
- Started
-
Jul 2025
- Expected to finish
-
Dec 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 60 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: * Volunteer subjects with Obsessive Compulsive Disorders (OCD) according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM V) criteria * without associated tics ("Gilles de la Tourette" Syndrome) * Age 18-60 years, right-handed * Disease severity: Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale score ≥16 for OCD patients * Medication stable for at least 4 weeks * Resistant patients to standard treatments: partial but insufficient response (reduction of Y-BOCS score \< 35%) or lack of response to previous well conducted treatment including: optimal tolerated dose and adequate duration (\> 12 weeks) of at least 2 Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, clomipramine), or 1 Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors + 1 augmentation strategy (adjunction of an antipsychotic - such as risperidone or olanzapine or aripiprazole - or lithium or buspirone) * No systematic rTMS therapy in the past six months; * Signature of informed consent form; * Normal vision or corrected vision; * Capacity to complete protocol-specified tests. Exclusion Criteria: * Abnormal cognitive status (assessed using MoCA with score \<24); * Other primary diagnosis than OCD (comorbid mild depression is tolerated) * Comorbid diagnosis of schizophrenia/ psychotic disorder, bipolar disorder, substance abuse or dependance3) * Significant self-harm intent or severe suicidal tendencies within the past year; * Irreversible visual or auditory impairment preventing completion of scales or related assessments; * Presence of metallic implants, such as pacemakers or stents; * Any current or potential medical, psychological, social, or geographical factors compromising patient safety or study participation; * Poor compliance; * Claustrophobia; * History of epilepsy or familial epilepsy * Pregnant or lactating women (women of childbearing potential must obtain a negative pregnancy test result prior to study commencement and employ medically approved contraceptive measures); * Deterioration or failure of vital organ function (cardiac, pulmonary, hepatic, renal, etc.); or unstable vital signs; * Conditions unsuitable for this stimulation site, such as increased intracranial pressure, elevated intraocular pressure, or glaucoma * History of or concomitant neurological disorders: cerebrovascular disease, central nervous system infections, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, Huntington's disease and Parkinson's disease, Lewy body dementia, traumatic brain injury dementia, other physical/chemical factors (drugs, alcohol, CO, etc.), significant somatic diseases (hepatic encephalopathy, pulmonary encephalopathy, etc.), intracranial space-occupying lesions (subdural haematoma, brain tumours), endocrine system disorders (thyroid disease, parathyroid disease), and dementia caused by vitamin deficiency or any other cause
Get updates
Get notified about this study
Sign up to get updates when this study changes or when new studies for Obsessive compulsive disorder are added.
Genom att skicka in godkänner du våra Användarvillkor
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
-
Shanghai Pudong New Area Mental Health Centre
RECRUITINGShanghai, Shanghai Municipality, 200124, China
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
- Reading the Brain's signals to predict who benefits from deep brain stimulation
- Brain scans and biosamples: mapping why OCD looks so different in every person
- Can a painless electrical acupoint zap boost OCD therapy?
- Can a gentle electrical current quiet Obsessive-Compulsive symptoms?
- Can magnetic pulses ease OCD in teens who Haven't improved?
- Can a focused electric field quiet the Brain's obsessive signals?