Efficacy of Clinical Application of Transcranial Low Intensity Focused Ultrasonic Stimulation for Patients With Major Deperessive Disorder - Exploratory Clinical Trial

Efficacy of Clinical Application of Transcranial Low Intensity Focused Ultrasonic Stimulation for Patients With Major Deperessive Disorder - Exploratory Clinical Trial

The non-invasive type ultrasonography system is applied to patients with major depressive disorder to evaluate their effectiveness and safety. Brain Computer Tomography(CT) and Magnetic Resonance Image(MRI) are taken to induce images before transcranial low intensity focused ultrasonic stimulation.

Through random extraction, the group is divided into treatment group and placebo group. The treatment is started by targeting left Dorsolateral prefrontal cortex(DLPFC) region according to assigned groups. As for women, considering mood change during menstrual cycle, the treatment is taken place 1 week after the menstruation has initiated. The treatment group and the placebo group will be treated three times a week for two weeks.

To evaluate clinical symptoms, Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology-Self Report, Scale for Suicidal Ideation, state-trait anxiety scale, frontal lobe management function test, memory test, and continuous performance test are performed before, during, and after treatment. For the assessment of side effects, Systematic Asseseement for Treatment Emergent Events-General Inquiry(SAFTEE) are conducted for treatment presentation events every week during the treatment implementation period and every two weeks after the treatment is completed.

Inclusion Criteria:

1)19 to 60 years of age 2)Having major depressive disorder without psychotic feature according to the DSM-5 diagnosis criteria SCID-5-CV: (ICD-10 code : F32.0, F32.1, F32.2, F33.0, F33.1, F33.2) 3)Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) score ≥12 4)No history of suicidal attempt with suicidal ideation tendency score assessed by the Scale for Suicide Ideation (SSI) ≤ 9 5)No antidepressants regimen for 4 weeks prior to enrollment. 6)n the case of active antidepressants regimen, patients with MADRS score ≥12 and who will not change their medication doses during the study period

Exclusion Criteria:

• Incompatibility with brain CT and MRI
• Disorders that may cause depression (e.g., thyroid dysfunction, uncontrolled diabetes) or who taking medications that can influence on mood (e.g., thyroid hormones, steroids.)
• History of epileptic seizures
• History of major psychiatric disorder including schizophrenia and bipolar disorder
• Mental retardation
• Severe physical illness including cancer and tuberculosis
• Significant skin problems including contact dermatitis
• Pregnant women or women planning to become pregnant
• (After CT scan) skull thickness ≥ 8, or significant calcification
• (After MRI scan) structural abnormalities such as brain tumors, hemorrhage, traumatic brain disease, or structural changes due to degenerative brain disorders