Abdullah Alhelali

Abdullah Alhelali


Research Focus & Metrics

Academic Career Length

5Years (2022-Present)

(Calculated once Scilit publication data is synced: current year − year of first publication + 1)

Representative Publications

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23 February 2022 in Brain Sciences
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
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AAAbdullah Alhelali
Abdullah Alhelali
EAEisa Almehiri
Eisa Almehiri
MAMohamed A. Abdelnaim
Mohamed A. Abdelnaim
FWFranziska C. Weber
Franziska C. Weber
BLBerthold Langguth
Berthold Langguth
THTobias Hebel
Tobias Hebel
Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is effective in the treatment of depression. However, for the subset of patients with bipolar disorder, less data is available and overall strength of evidence is weaker than for its use in unipolar depression. A cohort of 505 patients (of which 46 had a diagnosis of bipolar disorder) with depression who were treated with rTMS were analyzed retrospectively with regards to their response to several weeks of treatment. Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) was assessed as main outcome. Unipolar and bipolar patients with depression did not differ significantly in baseline demographic variables or severity of depression. Both groups did not differ significantly in their response to treatment as indicated by absolute and relative changes in the HDRS and response and remission rates. On HDRS subitem-analysis, bipolar patients showed superior amelioration of the symptom “paranoid symptoms” in a statistically significant manner. In conclusion, depressed patients with a diagnosis of bipolar disorder benefit from rTMS in a similar fashion as patients with unipolar depression in a naturalistic setting. rTMS might be more effective in reducing paranoia in bipolar than in unipolar patients.