A team led by Prof. Liu Shuang with Zhang Bin at Tianjin Anding Hospital
published in Translational Psychiatry a study testing a hybrid
accelerated–maintenance intermittent theta‑burst stimulation (iTBS) protocol for
adolescent major depressive disorder (MDD). The protocol used two days of
accelerated iTBS followed by a four‑week maintenance phase (one session per
week). Patients experienced significant reductions in depressive symptoms after
treatment, and many baseline abnormalities in spontaneous brain activity and
functional connectivity moved significantly toward healthy‑control levels.
Supplemental analysis showed symptom improvement with real accelerated iTBS was
significantly greater than sham. The authors describe the results as preliminary
evidence supporting the protocol’s clinical application and its potential neural
mechanisms in adolescent MDD.
