Assessment of multiple salivary biomarkers during repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) treatment for major depression

Ronald E See; Branon Eusebio; David Agnew; Mark Heatwole

doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2021.114053

Assessment of multiple salivary biomarkers during repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) treatment for major depression

Psychiatry Res. 2021 Aug:302:114053. doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2021.114053. Epub 2021 Jun 7.

Authors

Ronald E See¹, Branon Eusebio², David Agnew², Mark Heatwole²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychology, Westmont College, CA, USA. Electronic address: rsee@westmont.edu.
² TheraMind Center, Santa Barbara, CA, USA.

PMID: 34144510
DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2021.114053

Abstract

Steroid hormones may serve as potential biomarkers of treatment response for major depressive disorder (MDD). Here, we assessed salivary levels of cortisol, dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), and DHEA sulfate (DHEA-S), as well as α-amylase activity, across 30 sessions of bilateral repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in MDD patients. While rTMS significantly improved symptoms as measured by three different symptom scales, salivary biomarker levels and their ratios showed no significant changes across sessions. These results do not support the routine clinical use of these biomarkers as reliable indicators of treatment outcome during rTMS administration for MDD.

Keywords: Biomarkers; Major depression; Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Biomarkers
Depression
Humans
Major Depressive Disorder* / therapy
Prefrontal Cortex
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation
Treatment Outcome

Substances

Biomarkers