Feasibility, tolerability, and preliminary effectiveness of an accelerated bilateral intermittent theta-burst stimulation protocol in adults with posttraumatic stress disorder and comorbid depressive disorder following mild traumatic brain injury.
Symptoms improved during follow-up in this clinical cohort, supporting controlled investigation of a compressed treatment schedule.
Rubaye S, Shah A, Aldulaimy W, Hernandez A, Park H, Sorial V, Prasad P, Iyengar S.
International journal of psychiatry in clinical practice · Publication date: 2026-09-19
Added to site: 2026-09-23
DOI: 10.1080/13651501.2026.2733584
Electronic publication date verified in Europe PMC; first indexed 2026-09-20. This source date is separate from the site's addition date.
- Modalities
- iTBS, rTMS
- Clinical focus
- PTSD, Depression, Traumatic brain injury
- Population
- Adults aged 18 to 69 with PTSD, depression and predominantly mild traumatic brain injury
- Sample
- 64 treatment courses in 55 adults, not 64 independent patients
- Intervention / method
- 80 sessions over four days, alternating left and right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex
- Comparator
- Within-patient change without sham or untreated controls
Clinician summary
55 of 64 courses were completed. Depression, PTSD, anxiety and stress scores decreased; no treatment-emergent adverse events were documented.
How to interpret the findings
Retrospective, uncontrolled and single-site, with repeated courses and incomplete follow-up details. No causal efficacy or broad safety conclusion. Related contrary evidence: a different personalized aiTBS trial found no advantage over sham (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2026.122515, September 16, 2026).
Equipment and disclosures
Device model was not reported in the checked abstract.
Funding and competing-interest details were not available in the checked indexed record.
Related evidence
Compare findings from the same clinical area, including mixed results.
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- Clinical Efficacy of High-Frequency Deep Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation in the Treatment of Depression and the Predictive Role of Baseline Triglyceride Levels: A Randomized Sham-Controlled Trial. · Positive with limitations
- TMS-EEG Correlate of Suicidal Ideation in Individuals with Depression: A Multi-Site Synthesis. · Positive with limitations
- Motor Cortex rTMS Alleviates Pain and Comorbid Depression After Spinal Cord Injury with a Correlate in M1 Intracortical Inhibition. · Positive with limitations
- A PRISMA-compliant Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of the Late Positive Potential in Depression. · Positive with limitations
- Accelerated TMS is associated with changes of subgenual cingulate-default mode network coupling in depression: an observational 7 Tesla fMRI study. · Mixed
- Heart rate variability biofeedback and implications for tinnitus, PTSD and chronic pain in veterans: a scoping review · Mixed
- Identifying poor responders to repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation using structural brain networks. · Positive with limitations
- Theta burst stimulation with 80 and 120% resting motor threshold do not differ in their antidepressant efficacy: a retrospective analysis. · Positive with limitations
- TMS-Evoked Cortical Reactivity Signatures as a Multidimensional Biomarker of Depression: A TMS-EEG Meta-Analysis from Diagnosis to Prognosis. · Positive with limitations
- The effects of cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) on heart rate variability (HRV) in people with depression and/or anxiety disorders: A systematic review and meta-analysis · Positive with limitations
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