Posted 2014-03-19. The mean change in Y-BOCS score had declined at that assessment by 6.5 points (95% CI, 4.3 - 8.7) in the dTMS group and by 4.1 points (95% CI, 1.9 - 6.2) in the sham group In addition, 73% of the dTMS group and 69% of the placebo group reported adverse events, with headaches being the most frequently reported (by 37.5% vs 35.3%, respectively). "The nice thing with TMS is that we can target circuits in the brain that we know are important in OCD based on years of research," said Vidrine, who was not involved with the current research. For example, they might be told to "please keep thinking about that dirty handle," in order to activate their OCD circuitry. For my latest 1:2:1 podcast, I spoke with Stanford psychiatrist Carolyn Rodriguez, MD, PhD, about her research using the drug with OCD patients.Rodriguez conducted the first test of ketamine in an individual suffering from severe OCD in … "We don’t know if this is the best dose and the best frequency. My obsessions had completely taken over my life—not only were they daily distractions from work and friends, they were terrible. It also seems helpful for people stuck in a plateau in therapy, Vidrine said. High-frequency deep transcranial magnetic stimulation (dTMS) may offer new hope for patients with treatment-resistant obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), new research suggests. Please enter a Recipient Address and/or check the Send me a copy checkbox. In Ray’s case she was diagnosed following a knee operation at 16. Will ketamine, the new hope for the treatment of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and other severe mental illnesses, live up to it's promise? OCD, Depression, and Suicide: There Is Hope. For the almost 500,000 Australians who suffer from Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, hope is on the horizon as NICM Health Research Institute researchers trial a new treatment which has shown promising results in previous studies. The study is a collaboration between Western Sydney University; The University of Melbourne; and University of Queensland.For the almost 500,000 Australians who suffer from Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), hope is on the horizon as NICM Health Research Institute researchers trial a new treatment which has shown promising results in previous studies.OCD is a debilitating mental health disorder that can cause patients to experience intrusive thoughts such as a fear of germs or unwanted sexual thoughts, in addition to compulsive behaviours, including repetitive counting or checking, or excessive cleaning or hand washing.Current treatment options for OCD include high doses of antidepressants, but around 40 per cent of patients receive only minimal relief from symptoms, and can experience side effects including anxiety, insomnia, nausea and sexual dysfunction.Researchers from NICM Health Research Institute at Western Sydney University have received a National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) grant to trial the use of an amino acid supplement N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) to determine if it is an effective treatment of OCD symptoms.The study is part of a wider collaboration between researchers from NICM, Western Sydney University; Department of Psychiatry, The University of Melbourne; and the Discipline of Psychiatry, University of Queensland.Considered an emerging treatment in the field of psychiatric disorders, NAC has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties and influences various neurochemicals within the brain.It has already shown positive results in the treatment of bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, and in improving impulse control and reducing addictive behaviour for many patients, including those with cocaine or marijuana dependency.A previous 16-week, double-blind, randomised, controlled trial conducted by the researchers in 2015, which involved 44 participants between the ages of 18-70, found that NAC had an effect in reducing compulsions in people suffering from OCD.The new trial, which is already underway in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne, will aim to recruit a larger sample size of 200 participants who will take NAC or a placebo (dummy pill) over 24 weeks.NHMRC Clinical Research Fellow Professor Jerome Sarris from NICM Health Research Institute said that NAC is safe to use and shows much promise in the treatment of OCD. This is just the first one to do it in a large way and in this kind of FDA trial, randomized with enough subjects," Vidrine said.Click the topic below to receive emails when new articles are available. "Once you experience getting over the hump, outcomes are better," he said. "We know that it's the anterior cingulate cortex that we target. You must declare any conflicts of interest related to your comments and responses. Despite many obstacles, Dan fought his way back from severe OCD and reclaimed his life. "We were surprised to find that actually, it was the high frequency that caused the effect," Zangen told OCD affects 2% to 3% of the US population. Jennifer Ray was in constant pain. Partial response was defined as ≥ 20% from the baseline assessment to post-treatment assessment.The dTMS treatment was provided as an adjunctive therapy to the patients' current treatment, whether maintenance medication such as a serotonin reuptake inhibitor or cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT).