Using magnets to treat depression may sound like something out of a science fiction movie, but a therapy known as transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is proving to be effective for patients with major depression.
TMS is a noninvasive therapy that delivers magnetic pulses to stimulate nerve cells in the part of the brain involved in mood control and depression. The therapy has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration and has shown to be effective, even in patients who have failed multiple courses of antidepressant drugs.
A recent study from UCLA Health found that a particular type of TMS, known as repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS), can ease symptoms of depression within a matter of days. Dr. Michael Leuchter of the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior stated, “What’s most exciting to see is that these patients generally start reporting improvement within a week of starting treatment.”
TMS has been approved by the FDA to treat major depressive disorder since 2008, and it is generally used when other treatments, such as antidepressant medications, have failed to relieve the symptoms of depression. In addition to depression, TMS has also been used to treat obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), migraines, and for smoking cessation.
The procedure is non-invasive and generally painless, and some insurance plans even cover the cost of the procedure. The study results, which were published in Psychiatry Research, found that 54% of the patients had at least a 50% improvement in depression symptoms after undergoing rTMS therapy at UCLA Health.
The results of this study highlight the effectiveness of TMS in treating depression, offering hope to patients who may have failed to find relief with traditional antidepressant medications.