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Objective: Whereas there is growing evidence that repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) favorably impacts on symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorders (OCD), less is known regarding the influence of rTMS on cognitive performance of patients with OCD. Here, we tested the hypothesis that rTMS has a positive impact both on symptom severity and executive functions in such patients. Methods: We assessed 10 patients diagnosed with OCD (mean age: 33.5 years) and treated with a standard medication; they were randomly assigned either to a treatment-first or to a sham-first condition. Symptom severity (experts' ratings) and executive functions (Wisconsin Card Sorting Test) were assessed by independent raters unaware of the patients' group assignments at baseline, after 2 and 4 weeks. After 2 weeks, treatment switched to sham condition, and sham condition switched to treatment condition. Results: Under treatment but not under sham conditions, symptom severity decreased. Performance on the executive function test increased continuously with every new assessment and was unrelated to rTMS treatment. Conclusion: Whereas the present study confirmed previous research suggesting that rTMS improved symptoms of OCD, rTMS did not improve executive functions to a greater degree than sham treatment. More research is needed to investigate the effect of rTMS on executive functions in patients with OCD.

We investigated effects of metacognitive detached mindfulness therapy and stress management training on hypertension and symptoms of depression and anxiety, as compared to a control condition. A total of 45 female patients (mean age: M = 36.49 years) were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: metacognitive detached mindfulness therapy, stress management training, and the control condition. Blood pressure and symptoms of depression and anxiety decreased from baseline to post-test, to follow-up. Group comparisons showed that blood pressure and symptoms of depression and anxiety decreased more in psychotherapeutic groups than in the control group. Psychotherapeutic treatment of hypertension reduced blood pressure and symptoms of depression and anxiety. Positive effects were observable at follow-up 8 weeks later.