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NCT Number: NCT07460947

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

This study tests a new treatment for people with borderline personality disorder (BPD). The treatment combines a medication called D-cycloserine with one day of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS).

The main questions it aims to answer are:

* How many participants complete the treatment? * How do participants feel about the treatment? * Does the treatment have neurophysiological changes on participants? * Does the treatment improve BPD symptoms? * Do the benefits last over time?

Participants will be asked to:

* Come to the clinic for interviews and testing * Complete weekly questionnaires for 4 weeks before the treatment day * Take D-cycloserine the night before treatment * Attend one treatment day at the clinic. On that day, they may receive up to 20 short TMS sessions (each lasting 3 minutes and separated by 30 minutes). This visit may last up to 12 hours. * Complete weekly questionnaires for 6 weeks after the treatment day.

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Key information

Conditions

Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) Borderline Personality Disorder Mental Disorders Personality Disorders

Age range

18 year and older

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Phase 1 / Phase 2

Primary location

McLean Hospital

Belmont, Massachusetts, 02478, United States

Location status: Recruiting

Location contact

Alexandra L Velev, BA

CONTACT

[email protected]

Jenna M Traynor, PhD

PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Joshua C Brown, MD PhD

SUB_INVESTIGATOR

Molly Coyle, BS

CONTACT

[email protected]

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Adult (18+) of any gender
  • Meets DSM-5 criteria for BPD, per assessment with the Structured Clinic Interview for DSM-5 Personality Disorders (SCID-5-PD), BPD Module
  • Moderate to severe SI during the two weeks prior to screening, as indexed by a score of 9 or higher on the Modified Scale for Suicide Ideation - Self Report (Clum & Yang, 1995)

Exclusion criteria

  • Current manic or hypomanic symptoms, as assessed by the Diagnostic Assessment Research Tool (DART) screener and diagnostic modules, where relevant.
  • Current clinically significant psychotic symptoms not better accounted for by BPD, as assessed by the DART psychotic symptoms screener.
  • Current alcohol or substance use disorder, that in the opinion of a study PIs, is of sufficient severity to impede engagement in treatment or is associated with significant risk of medical withdrawal, as assessed by the DART.
  • Medical documentation or self-report of current anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, or eating disorder not otherwise specified - atypical anorexia nervosa or atypical bulimia nervosa, that is in the opinion of a study PIs is of sufficient severity to be associated with significant medical risks
  • Acute suicide risk, sufficient to require immediate hospitalization;
  • history of traumatic brain injury (TBI) or concussion involving loss of consciousness or amnesia for ≥24 hours;
  • any significant neurological disorder likely to be associated with increased intracranial pressure or cognitive impairment (e.g., epilepsy; Parkinson's disease);
  • diagnosed neurodevelopmental disorder (e.g., autism, downs syndrome; Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome) other than attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or dyslexia
  • current diagnosis of delirium or dementia;
  • cognitive disorder secondary to a general medical condition
  • Pregnant and breastfeeding people are excluded in line with the studies our protocol is based upon using DCS and aTMS. Assessment of pregnancy will be completed during the 1-week prior to the administration of DCS (i.e., taken the night before TMS treatment), where relevant and according to MGB IRB policy.
  • Participants with contraindications to TMS (e.g., metal in head or neck area), or at increased risk for adverse events (e.g., seizure history or markedly heightened risk factors for seizures, serious medical problems, implanted devices) will be excluded.
  • Participants with a known allergy to DCS will be excluded from the study.
  • No patients with involuntary hospitalization status will be recruited for the study.
  • No individuals who are not proficient in English will be recruited for the study
  • Subject does not have a PCP

Treatment and study plan

TMS

Device

TMS will consist of 600 pulses of intermittent theta burst stimulation (iTBS), with 3-minute treatment sessions delivered up to 20 times every 30 minutes for a 12-hour protocol.

Other names: iTBS

D-Cycloserine (DCS)

Drug

Participants will be asked to take a single dose (250mg) of D-cycloserine the night before the treatment day.

Primary outcomes

  1. Acceptability of Intervention Measure (AIM)

    Time frame: Week 5

    Feasibility of the one-day TMS treatment will be indexed by favorable ratings on the Acceptability of Intervention Measure (AIM).

    The AIM is a four-item measure that assesses participants' approval of an intervention. Each item is rated on a 5-point scale (completely disagree - completely agree), and total scores indicate greater acceptance of an intervention.

  2. Motor-evoked potentials (MEPs)

    Time frame: Within 10 minutes pre- and 5 minutes post- treatment sessions 1,2,10,and final session

    MEPS will be recorded before and after treatment sessions 1, 2, 10, and the final session. Specifically, MEPS will be collected within 10 minutes before treatment session onset and within 5 minutes after treatment session completion. An increase in motor-evoked potentials (MEPs) over the TMS treatment course indicates increased plasticity.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Modified Scale for Suicide Ideation - Self Report (MSSI-SR)

    Time frame: From baseline through to week 11. Taken at week 1, week 3, week 6, week 8, week 10, and week 11, an average of once every two weeks

    Suicidal ideation will be assessed using the MSSI-SR. The MSSI-SR is an 18-item self-report measure that assesses the frequency, intensity, and nature of suicidal ideation, plans, and intent across the past week. Responses range from 0 (e.g., does not experience thoughts of suicide) to 3 (e.g., experiences thoughts of suicide many times each day). Total score ranges from 0 to 54, with higher scores indicating greater suicide risk factors and more severe suicidal ideation.

  2. Distress Tolerance Scale (DTS)

    Time frame: From baseline through to week 11. Taken at week 1, week 2, week 4, week 7, week 9, and week 11, an average of once every two weeks

    The DTS is a 15-item self-report questionnaire assessing participant's beliefs about distressing or upsetting feelings on average. Responses range from 1 (strongly agree) to 5 (strongly disagree), and higher average total scores indicate greater distress tolerance.

  3. Rejection Sensitivity Questionnaire (RSQ)

    Time frame: From baseline through to week 11. Taken at week 1, week 7, and week 11

    The RSQ is an 18-item self-report measure that assesses the level of rejection concern and rejection expectancy an individual has in nine common hypothetical situations. Rejection concern scores range from 1 (very unconcerned) to 6 (very concerned), and rejection expectancy scores range from 1 (very unlikely) to 6 (very likely). Sensitivity scores (between 1 and 36) are produced for each situation by multiplying the two scores. The total score (between 1 and 36) represents the average of rejection sensitivity scores across the situations, with higher scores indicating greater rejection sensitivity.

  4. The Brief Version of the Mentalization Scale (MentS-12)

    Time frame: From baseline through to week 11. Taken at week 1, week 7, and week 11

    The MentS-12 is a 12-item self-report measure that assesses an individual's mentalization capacity across self-related mentalization, other-related mentalization, and motivation to mentalize. Responses range from 1 (completely incorrect) to 5 (completely correct), and total higher summed score indicates greater mentalizing capacity.

  5. Social Safeness and Pleasure Scale (SSPS)

    Time frame: From baseline through to week 11. Taken at week 1, week 7, and week 11

    The SPSS is an 11-item self-report measure that assesses the extent to which participants experience their social worlds as safe, warm, and soothing. Responses range from 1 (almost never) to 5 (almost all the time), and total scores range from 11 to 55, with higher scores indicating greater positive feelings in social relationships.

  6. Borderline Symptom List 23 (BSL-23)

    Time frame: From baseline through to week 11. Taken at week 1, week 7, and week 11

    The BSL-23 is a self-report measure that Assesses how much participants suffered from experiences related to BPD. Responses range from 0 (not at all) to 4 (very strong). The total score (0-4) is the average of the 23 items, with higher scores indicating greater BPD symptom severity.

  7. Patient Health Questionnaire 9 (PHQ-9)

    Time frame: From baseline through to week 11. Taken at week 1, week 7, and week 11

    The PHQ-9 is a 9-item self-report measure that assesses depression severity over the past 2 weeks (or otherwise specified). Responses range from 0 (not at all) to 3 (nearly every day), along with a final question about how difficult the endorsed problems made it difficult to do work, take care of things at home, or get along with others (ranging from not difficult at all - extremely difficult). Total summed score indicates depression severity, with higher scores suggesting greater depression severity

Study contacts

Contact information is provided by the study sponsor or research team.

Alexandra Velev, BA

CONTACT

[email protected]

617-855-3430

Molly Coyle, BS

CONTACT

[email protected]

617-855-2153

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Mclean Hospital

Other

Registry information

Official study title

A Pilot Trial of One Day Accelerated Intermittent Theta-burst Stimulation Plus D-cycloserine in Suicidal Patients With Borderline Personality Disorder (ONE-D BPD)

Acronym: ONE-D BPD

Important dates

Study start
2026
Primary completion
2027
Study completion
2027
First posted
Mar 10, 2026
Registry last updated
Jun 4, 2026

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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