Pilot Trial of One-Day Accelerated Theta-Burst Stimulation Combined with D-Cycloserine for Adults with Borderline Personality Disorder and Suicidal Ideation

What this Trial Is About

Researchers are evaluating a new treatment for adults with borderline personality disorder BPD who experience suicidal thoughts. This study aims to assess how many participants complete the treatment, how they feel about it, whether it causes changes in brain activity, if it improves BPD symptoms, and whether any benefits last over time. The research is sponsored by Mclean Hospital and involves a pilot trial of combined therapy. Participants will take a single dose of the medication D-cycloserine the night before the treatment day. On the treatment day, they will receive up to 20 short sessions of transcranial magnetic stimulation TMS, each lasting about 3 minutes and separated by 30-minute breaks, lasting up to 12 hours total. This is an open-label study without a comparison group. Throughout the study, participants will visit the clinic for interviews and testing. They will complete weekly questionnaires for 4 weeks before treatment and for 6 weeks after the treatment day. Researchers will measure acceptability of the intervention, brain activity changes using motor-evoked potentials, and BPD symptom scales at multiple time points to track outcomes and safety over about 11 weeks.

A Pilot Trial of One-Day Accelerated TMS and D-cycloserine in Suicidal Patients With Borderline Personality Disorder