Finding Treatments for Eating Disorders (FED)
Anorexia in Adolescence
About this trial
This is an interventional treatment trial for Anorexia in Adolescence focused on measuring Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Adolescence, Anorexia
Eligibility Criteria
Inclusion Criteria:
- Diagnosis of Anorexia Nervosa (AN) by medical and psychiatric assessment at the Calgary Eating Disorder Program.
- English fluency (i.e., able to consent and assent to the study)
- Aged 12 to 18
- Medically stable
- Medications for AN or psychiatric disorders are allowed if the dose has been stable for six weeks with adequate compliance, with a commitment to not change medication/dosage during the trial period. If a medication change occurs, the research team will document this.
Exclusion Criteria:
- Diagnosis of mania or psychosis
- Impediments to TMS or MRI (i.e., braces, having non-MRI compatible metals in the body)
- Diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder
- Diagnosis of post-concussive syndrome
- Plans to move/be unavailable for clinic visits for 6 to 9 months after the start of treatment
Sites / Locations
- Alberta Children's Hospital
Arms of the Study
Arm 1
Arm 2
Experimental
Sham Comparator
Active Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation
Sham Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation
rTMS parameters are intensity 110% resting motor threshold (RMT), frequency 1Hz, duration = 30 minutes (1800 stimulations), targeting the right DLPFC. To target the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) for rTMS treatment we will use the traditional method (i.e. the 5cm rule; George et al., 1995, 1996; Herwig et al., 2001, 2003; MacMaster et al., 2019), in which the TMS coil is placed 5 cm anterior to the participant's motor cortex along a line to the nasion. Treatments will occur on weekdays at the same time of day for 4 weeks (20 total).
For the sham rTMS group, a sham coil is used: this sham method does not emit any magnetic field, and therefor does not affect brain activity, but it does produce auditory sensations that is indistinguishable from active rTMS in naïve subjects