Theta Burst Stimulation for Gambling Disorder

Gambling Disorder Clinical Trial

Official title:

Rolling Deep With Gambling Disorder: From Building up of Scales, Biomarkers to Therapeutic Innovation

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Recruiting

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT05872750
• Other study ID #: TCHIRB-11104005
• Status: Recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: April 17, 2023
• Est. completion date: June 2026

Study information

• Verified date: May 2023
• Source: Taipei City Hospital
• Contact: Hu-Ming Chang
• Phone: 0978052951
• Email: DAU66[@]tpech.gov.tw
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

The goal of this clinical trial is to investigate the efficacy of theta burst stimulation in individuals with gambling disorder. The main goal is to compare the severity of gambling problems following 2 weeks of intervention between active group and sham group. Participants will be randomized into active and sham group. The severity of gambling problems are assessed by self-reported questionaires.

Description:

Gambling disorder, formerly known as pathological gambling, is a gambling behavior that causes significant function impairment in personal, social, occupational domains. Currently there is no pharmacological treatment for gambling disorder and it is urgent to develop innovative treatment modalities. Image studies have found a link between prefrontal circuit dysfunction and behavioral disinhibition, which supports the use of non-invasive brain stimulation as a potential treatment for gambling disorder. In this study, 75 patients with gambling disorder will be randomly assigned in a 2:1 ratio to the intervention group (50 patients) and the control group (25 patients) on double-blind basis. The study duration is 2 weeks, with 10 sessions of 20 minutes each. The intervention group will receive repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation at the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and pre-supplementary motor area, while the control group will receive sham stimulation. The Chinese version of the Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI), the Gambling Symptom Assessment Scale (G-SAS), and the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) for craving will be administered at week 0, 2, 4, 8, and the change in gambling severity between the two groups will be compared by repeated measures ANOVA.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Recruiting
• Enrollment: 75
• Est. completion date: June 2026
• Est. primary completion date: June 2026
• Accepts healthy volunteers: No
• Gender: All
• Age group: 18 Years to 65 Years

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

1. age between 18 and 65 years;

2. fulfilling at least 4 of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual version 5 (DSM-5) criteria of gambling disorder for at least 12-month assessed by the Structured Clinical Interview

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Inability to provide informed consent or comprehend the study procedure;

2. A major psychiatric illness that required chronic psychotropic medication or inpatient treatment, including schizophrenia spectrum disorder, bipolar spectrum disorder, and major depressive disorder with psychotic features.

3. A current DSM-5 diagnosis of substance use disorder except nicotine use disorder or the use of one to two low-potency benzodiazepine tablets for sleep impairment;

4. Have known preexisting noise-induced hearing loss, concurrent treatment with ototoxic medications, or with cochlear implants.

5. Unstable medical illness, including malignancy, uncontrolled diabetes mellitus, unstable cardiac disease or recent myocardial infarction, or cerebrovascular or cardiovascular risk factors that require intensive medical management

6. On medications known to lower seizure threshold (e.g., TCA, bupropion, clozapine)

7. Implants controlled by physiological signals, including pacemaker, implantable cardioverter defibrillator, cochlear implant.

8. Metallic objects in the head, including stenting, suture.

9. Elevated risk of seizure due to traumatic brain history, seizure history, and head trauma, intracranial lesion, and alcohol or benzodiazepines withdrawal syndrome, stimulant intoxication.

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Disease
• Gambling
• Gambling Disorder

Intervention

Device:
• theta burst stimulation
Magstim Rapid 2 Plus stimulator (Magstim Co., Ltd., Whitland, United Kingdom)
• sham stimulation
sham stimulation

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
Taiwan	Taipei City Hospital	Taipei	Taipei CITY

Sponsors (1)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
Taipei City Hospital

Country where clinical trial is conducted

Taiwan, 

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	Change in gambling craving	Measured by visual analog scale, from 0-10	Before intervention (week 0) and after intervention (week 2, 4)
Primary	Change in gambling severity	Measured by Gambling Symptom Assessment Scale, from 0-48	Before intervention (week 0) and after intervention (week 2, 4)
Secondary	Change in depression severity	Measured by Beck Depression Inventory, from 0-63	Before intervention (week 0) and after intervention (week 2, 4)
Secondary	Change in anxiety severity	Measured by Beck Anxiety Inventory, from 0-63	Before intervention (week 0) and after intervention (week 2, 4)