Original Article: Positive Outcomes with Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation for Major Depression
Study the Article was Based on: Efficacy and Safety of Low-field Synchronized Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation for Treatment of Major Depression
This was a study done on a new version of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation. This new version is called Synchronized Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation because the magnetic waves are tuned into the alpha rhythm of the brain.
There were two groups in this study, placebo and treatment group. Within each group were a mix of depression treatment resistant patients and patients who had never been treated before for depression. Only 8% of the placebo group reported any improvement in depression symptoms, whereas 35% of the treatment group did.
Furthermore (and this is the exciting part) the participants who hadn’t had success with other treatments were more likely to see positive results than the patients who had never been treated before.
I hope this version of TMS gets approved soon by the FDA.
After reading this article, there are a few questions I have regarding TMS which I may address in an upcoming post. How exactly does it work? Why do the magnetic waves affect the brain? Why is it successful? What are the differences between the different brain waves? Do health insurances cover the FDA approved version of it? How long do the positive effects last? Is there any possibility of negative effects? Compared to Electroshock Therapy, how effective is it?
What do you think of TMS? Comment below and tell me.