SOURCE: European Geriatric Medicine. Conference: 18th Congress of the European Geriatric Medicine Society. Online. 13(Supplement 1) (pp S391), 2022.
DATE OF PUBLICATION: December 2022.
AUTHORS: Melissa T.; Lucie V.; Sylvie P.
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: Depression in the elderly is a frequent pathology, yet it is sometimes ignored, and treatment is often limited or inadequate. The response of elderly patients with cognitive impairment to drug therapy is decreased, and they are prone to iatrogenic conditions. Transcranial stimulation (rTMS) is a non-drug and innovative treatment.
METHODOLOGY: Patients receiving care in the geriatric day hospital at Charles Foix hospital and either presenting with symptoms of depression that barely or do not respond to drug treatments or developing an iatrogenic condition were included over a period of three years (February 2019 to May 2022). They were able to benefit from rTMS five days a week over a period of three or four consecutive weeks. The Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) was used to assess depression before the procedure and one month after.
RESULT(S): 36 patients with major cognitive impairment (23), mild impairment (8) or no cognitive impairment (5) were included; 8 men and 28 women. The average age was 79; 1/2 had developed an iatrogenic condition to drugs and 83% had tried 2 or more drugs therapy. 5 people were unable to complete therapy (anxiety, pain, tremors). 46 interventions were performed with an average initial GDS of 8.8/15. The average GDS after the operation was 4.8 (average decrease of 4 points, p<0.0001).
PROSPECTS: RTMS appears to be a relevant treatment for the future to support the management of treatment-resistant depression in elderly patients. It would be beneficial to pursue this original treatment to improve patient well-being.
FULL ARTICLE LINK: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9735049/pdf/41999_2022_Article_711.pd
