Safety and Possible Efficacy of Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) in DP/DR
Dear colleagues
rTMS is intensively used in depression and hallucinations. But there is also evidence in the Treatment of Depersonalization Disorder. Depersonalization/derealization disorder is an understudied debilitating condition characterized by subjective experiences of unreality, emotional numbness, and the feeling of the body being disconnected. Its etiology has been linked to emotional abuse and psychoactive substance abuse. As pathophysiology might involve circumscript regions of the brain, rTMS can be applied successfully. This is even more important, as most pharmacological and psychotherapeutic treatments do not lead to sufficient clinical improvement.
In this paper, published in the Swiss Arch Neurol Psychiatr Psychotherr our vice president reports on studies using rTMS for the treatment of depersonalization disorder. Studies were heterogeneous, however, they demonstrated a response to rTMS particularly to the right temporo-parietal junction in most of the subjects.
Please, find more information on our homepage regarding the paper as well as information on how to use, prescribe or learn rTMS in Switzerland.