Education and Training

Examining the Effectiveness of Deep TMS in Veterans With Alcohol Use Disorder

This study aims to evaluate the efficacy of deep transcranial magnetic stimulation (dTMS) as a treatment for Veterans with an alcohol use disorder (AUD).

Stanford is currently not accepting patients for this trial.

Stanford Investigator(s):

Intervention(s):

  • device: Deep Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (dTMS) H7 coil

Eligibility


Inclusion Criteria:

   - The study will be open to male and females, regardless of race and ethnic origin,
   21-70 years of age, who are in active treatment for an AUD at the VAPAHCS, Foundations
   of Recovery.

   - Participants must meet Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th
   Edition (DSM-5) criteria for AUD, and alcohol is self-identified as the primary
   substance of misuse.

   - Able to read, verbalize understanding, and voluntarily sign the Informed Consent Form
   prior to participation in study procedures in English.

   - Participants will be accepted if taking medications specifically for the treatment of
   major depressive disorders, cigarette smoking, or for other psychiatric conditions as
   long as the medications are not documented to lower seizure threshold - it would be
   clinically contraindicated to require participants to discontinue such medications for
   research. rTMS is safely administered to individuals who are taking psychotropic
   medications that do not lower seizure threshold.

   - Participants will be abstinent from alcohol and non-prescribed substances for at least
   7 consecutive days prior to rTMS to ensure no participant is experiencing active acute
   withdrawal.

Exclusion Criteria:

Psychiatric:

   - Current diagnosis of Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders and Bipolar Disorders;

   - Current moderate-severe substance use disorder other than alcohol, tobacco, or
   marijuana, based on DSM-5 diagnostic criteria;

   - Active current suicidal intent or plan (patients with a previous clinical flag for
   risk for suicide will be required to have an established safety plan involving their
   primary psychiatrist and the treatment team before entering the clinical trial, any
   form of previous rTMS or electroconvulsive treatment)

Biomedical:

Including, but not limited to:

   - Uncontrolled thyroid disease,

   - Unstable congestive heart failure,

   - Angina

   - Other severe cardiac illness as defined by treatment regimen changes in the prior 3
   months

   - Cerebrovascular accident, cancer if < 1 year since end of treatment;

   - Unstable diabetes

   - COPD requiring oxygen supplementation

   - Alzheimer's disease

   - Parkinson's disease

   - Any biomedical implants with ferromagnetic content, neurostimulation devices, cardiac
   pacemakers or any magnetic resonance contraindications;

   - Traumatic brain injury with self-reported or observed loss of consciousness > 30
   minutes, any primary or traumatically induced seizure disorder, and alcohol-related
   seizure(s) in the past 30 days.

General:

   - Lack of fluency in English;

   - Wechsler Adult Reading Test below the 7th percentile (i.e., moderate or greater
   impairment in estimated general intelligence);

   - Females who are pregnant or actively attempting pregnancy;

   - Conservative exclusion for magnetic resonance research, current use of any medication
   or substance that is documented to lower seizure threshold or has been identified as a
   contraindication for rTMS treatment.

Ages Eligible for Study

21 Years - 70 Years

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Not currently accepting new patients for this trial

Contact Information

Stanford University
School of Medicine
300 Pasteur Drive
Stanford, CA 94305
Study Team
650-493-5000 Ext. 62629
Not Recruiting