Stanford Neuromodulation Therapy: Double-Blind RCT Results
Does Stanford’s 5-day TMS protocol work for treatment-resistant depression?
Yes. Stanford Neuromodulation Therapy achieves 79% remission rates in treatment-resistant depression, with 85.7% response rates, compared to 13% remission and 26.7% response with sham treatment. A double-blind randomized controlled trial of 29 patients found that 5 days of SNT produced 52.5% reduction in depression scores vs. 11.1% with sham, with large effect sizes (Cohen’s d 1.4-1.8).
SNT works by using functional MRI to personalize targeting of the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, delivering accelerated high-dose intermittent theta-burst stimulation (10 sessions daily for 5 days, 90,000 total pulses) to rapidly modulate depression-related neural circuits.