Depression

    T-PEMF for Treatment-Resistant Depression: Multicenter Study

    Grade B+Controlled clinical study2020

    What did this study find?

    Fifty-eight patients whose depression had not responded to medication received eight weeks of transcranial pulsed electromagnetic field treatment. Average Hamilton Depression Scale scores fell from 20.6 to 12.6, and just under three quarters met response criteria. No serious side effects were reported. The study was not sham-controlled, so placebo response cannot be separated out.

    What are the details of this record?

    Full citation
    Danish University Antidepressant Group. Transcranial pulsed electromagnetic fields for treatment-resistant depression: A multicenter 8-week single-arm cohort study. PMC. 2020.
    Authors
    Danish University Antidepressant Group
    Study design
    Controlled clinical study
    Sample size and population
    58 participants with treatment-resistant depression
    Evidence grade
    Grade B+ on the BioReg grading scale
    Reported findings
    8-week study with 58 participants. Hamilton Depression Scale decreased from 20.6 to 12.6. Response rate 73.5%. T-PEMF induces low electric fields modifying brain oscillations. No serious side effects.
    DOI
    No DOI recorded
    PubMed
    Not indexed in PubMed
    Related categories
    Depression (category grade B+)

    A positive PEMF study is not evidence for a specific device unless the signal parameters studied, frequency, intensity, waveform, and exposure duration, are reasonably comparable to what that device produces. Where this record does not list those parameters, the source report did not publish them. See the grading methodology. Library last reviewed 2026-08-27.