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rTMS for Depression in Young Adults With Autism

NCT04972136 · Status: RECRUITING · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 80

Last updated 2026-03-19

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

The current clinical trial is focused on evaluating the efficacy of rTMS for treatment of depression in youth and young adults (hereafter called transition aged youth, TAY) with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The motivation to undertake the current efficacy study is driven by: (1) the substantial impact of depression on TAY with ASD (based on prevalence and contribution to disability/impairment); (2) lack of evidence-based treatments for depression in autism (there are no current trials rigorously evaluating any treatment for depression, i.e., psychotherapeutic, pharmacotherapeutic, brain stimulation); (3) rTMS has demonstrated efficacy in non-autistic individuals to improve symptoms of depression and may be better tolerated in youth than medication treatment; (4) a prior pilot rTMS study focused on treatment of executive function deficits in autism indicated that high frequency rTMS delivered using a rigorous randomized control trial (RCT) protocol can be feasibly implemented in TAY with autism, is well tolerated (mild to moderate adverse effects and low drop out), and has the potential to improve symptoms of depression.

Conditions

Interventions

DEVICE

Active Bilateral Theta Burst Stimulation

A total of 30 active BL-TBS sessions. Stimulation will begin with right DLPFC (cTBS) followed by left DLPFC (iTBS)

DEVICE

Sham Bilateral Theta Burst Stimulation

A total of 30 sham BL-TBS sessions. Stimulation will begin with right DLPFC (cTBS) followed by left DLPFC (iTBS)

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • Centre for Addiction and Mental Health

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • Stephanie H Ameis, MD, MSC · Centre for Addiction and Mental Health

Study Design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
QUADRUPLE
Model
PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age
16 Years
Max Age
35 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2021-01-14
Primary Completion
2027-01-14
Completion
2027-01-14

Countries

  • Canada

Study Locations

More Related Trials

Entities

Diseases

Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT04972136 on ClinicalTrials.gov