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Can Magnetic Stimulation Cure Depression?Magnetic Stimulation Scores Modest Success as AntidepressantMagnetic Stimulation and Depression: Magnetic Stimulation Scores Modest Success as Antidepressant Trial of Non-Invasive Treatment Used New, Convincing Sham Control From NIH News May 3, 2010 Some depressed patients who don't respond to or tolerate antidepressant medications may benefit from a non-invasive treatment that stimulates the brain with a pulsing electromagnet, a study suggests. This first industry-independent, multi-site, randomized, tightly controlled trial of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) This study found that it produced significant antidepressant effects in a subgroup of patients, with few side effects. Active rTMS treatment accounted for remissions in 14 percent of antidepressant-resistant patients actively treated, compared to about 5 percent for a simulated treatment. "Although rTMS treatment has not yet lived up to early hopes that it might replace more invasive therapies, this study suggests that the treatment may be effective in at least some treatment-resistant patients," said Thomas R. Insel, M.D., director of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), part of the National Institutes of Health, which funded the study. Mark George, M.D., of the Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston; Harold Sackeim, Ph.D., and Sarah Lisanby, M.D., of Columbia University, New York City; David Avery, M.D., of the University of Washington, Seattle; William McDonald, M.D., of Emory University, Atlanta; and colleagues, report on their findings in the May 2009 issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry. "This study should help settle the debate about whether rTMS works for depression," said George, who led the research team. "We can now follow up clues suggesting ways to improve its effectiveness, and hopefully further develop a potential new class of stimulation treatments for other brain disorders." The treatment aims to jump-start underactive mood-regulating circuitry by targeting the top left front part of the brain with an electromagnetic coil that emits 3,000 pulses over a 37-minute session. It can be safely administered in a doctor’s office with few side effects – unlike more invasive brain stimulation treatments, such as electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) (http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/brain-stimulation-therapies/brain-stimulation-therapies.shtml) (See Background below). Reference: Daily left prefrontal transcranial magnetic stimulation therapy for major depressive disorder. George MS, Lisanby SH, Avery D, McDonald WM, Durkalski V, Pavlicova M, Anderson B, Nahas Z, Bulow P, Zarkowski P, Holtzheimer PD, Schwartz T, Sackeim HA. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2010 May Read this article and more about depression and magnetic therapy
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