Anorexia Nervosa Research Study
Researchers at the University of California San Diego are looking for female participants for a study examining whether a type of brain stimulation improves treatment outcome in anorexia nervosa. Females ages 18-45 may qualify to participate in this study. Join our compensated study today.
Fast Facts
Females experiencing symptoms of anorexia nervosa
willing to refrain from drinking alcohol for the duration of the study
18-45 years old
Compensation Provided
Conducted in San Diego, CA
Study Background
We want to examine whether a type of brain stimulation improves treatment outcome in anorexia nervosa.
Brain stimulation has been used to treat depression for many years. It has been very successful in treating low mood and feeling suicidal. Brain stimulation involves a magnet placed over one side of head. The magnet is repeatedly turned on and off. Magnetism is often used when people have a head injury to take a picture of the brain, called an MRI. During brain stimulation, the person is sitting a comfortable chair in a research office and the magnet, which is fastened to a stand, will be placed over the head.
This procedure is called transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). Most often in the past patients received one 40-minute treatment session per day. New research has shown that shorter periods of stimulation delivered over the course of the day are more successful and we are interested in finding out whether this is true for symptoms of anorexia nervosa as well. This procedure is called intermittent theta burst stimulation (iTBS), a new form of TMS.
In this study, subjects will complete a battery of self-assessments and a diagnostic assessment in order to determine eligibility and for characterization of behavior to be used in later analyses. After eligibility is confirmed, subjects will take part in iTBS treatment over either 1 week (active iTBS groups) or 2 weeks, (1 week sham treatment group, followed by 1 week active iTBS).
Your participation in this study may help researchers learn more about the effects of TMS on anorexia nervosa. Advance research today and join our compensated study.
Study Background
We want to examine whether a type of brain stimulation improves treatment outcome in anorexia nervosa.
Brain stimulation has been used to treat depression for many years. It has been very successful in treating low mood and feeling suicidal. Brain stimulation involves a magnet placed over one side of head. The magnet is repeatedly turned on and off. Magnetism is often used when people have a head injury to take a picture of the brain, called an MRI. During brain stimulation, the person is sitting a comfortable chair in a research office and the magnet, which is fastened to a stand, will be placed over the head.
This procedure is called transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). Most often in the past patients received one 40-minute treatment session per day. New research has shown that shorter periods of stimulation delivered over the course of the day are more successful and we are interested in finding out whether this is true for symptoms of anorexia nervosa as well. This procedure is called intermittent theta burst stimulation (iTBS), a new form of TMS.
In this study, subjects will complete a battery of self-assessments and a diagnostic assessment in order to determine eligibility and for characterization of behavior to be used in later analyses. After eligibility is confirmed, subjects will take part in iTBS treatment over either 1 week (active iTBS groups) or 2 weeks, (1 week sham treatment group, followed by 1 week active iTBS).
Your participation in this study may help researchers learn more about the effects of TMS on anorexia nervosa. Advance research today and join our compensated study.
Additional Information
You may qualify for this study if you meet the following criteria.
Key Criteria:
Females ages 18 to 45 years
Willing to refrain from drinking alcohol for the duration of the study
Experiencing symptoms of anorexia nervosa (Ex: severe fear of weight gain, body image distortion, etc.)
Fluent in English
Not pregnant
No history of significant head trauma with loss of consciousness for greater than 5 minutes
No symptoms of alcohol or substance abuse or dependence in the past month
- Pre-Screening:
Subjects from the community who inquire about the study will be sent an electronic copy of the informed consent form. Subjects will do an initial 45-minute phone interview, where they will be asked questions regarding eating, weight, and psychiatric history. During the phone interview, the research coordinator will also describe the study procedures, answer questions about the study, and assess comprehension of the study procedures.
- Screening Visit (Visit 1):
The screening visit can be conducted either in person or virtually. At this visit, the PI will review study procedures and consent forms with subjects. Subjects will also complete a psychiatric diagnostic interview with the PI. At this interview, the PI will complete the SCID-5, HAMD-7, C-SSRS, and TMS screening forms to confirm the subjects’ eligibility for the study. Subjects will also be completing a self-assessment packet that will take about 60 minutes to complete. These questionnaires will discuss mood and anxiety, eating behaviors, temperament, and character traits.
- Pre- TMS Visit:
Each subject will be required to complete a urine pregnancy test and a basic metabolic panel blood test within one week of the start of the TMS sessions. Subjects in California will complete the blood draw and pregnancy with the study’s research clinic. For out-of-state subjects, they will complete the blood draw and pregnancy test with their PCP.
- iTBS/TMS Sessions
Before starting the iTBS sessions you will be assigned by chance to a study group.
- Participants in Group 1 will complete 5 days of active iTBS sessions.
- Participants in Group 2 will complete 5 days of sham iTBS sessions followed by 5 days of active iTBS sessions. If after the sham iTBS the subject does not want to have the additional active iTBS, they can end study participation.
- Both sham and active iTBS sessions will occur 5 days per week (Monday through Friday) and 10 sessions per day.
- Each session will last about 5 minutes. Subjects will be required to stay onsite (16918 Dove Canyon Road) in between the 10 daily sessions. This requirement is to allow research staff to monitor you between the sessions for any side effects from the iTBS sessions.
- After the 5 days of treatment, the subject will have a Study Exit Visit.
- After the subject completes the Study Exit Visit the subject will be told whether they were assigned to Group 1, the active iTBS group, or Group 2, the sham/active iTBS group. If the subject was assigned to Group 1 and received active iTBS, the subject’s participation in the study is complete after the Study Exit Visit. If the subject was assigned to Group 2 and received sham iTBS, the subject will be asked to complete an additional 5 days of active iTBS. Group 2 will repeat the Study Exit Visit after completing the active iTBS.
