National study of TMS tests new, non-medication treatment for depression.
The National Institute of Mental Health estimates that every year, 18.8 million American adults suffer from depression. While many patients respond positively to currently available treatments, some do not. For example, an estimated 10 to 15 percent of patients remain chronically depressed even after taking several different types of antidepressants. Transcranial magnetic stimulation—or TMS—is a potential new therapy for these and other treatment-resistant patients. Sixteen centers nationwide are currently conducting clinical trials to evaluate TMS for the treatment of depression. Malvern, Pennsylvania-based Neuronetics, Inc., developers of the TMS NeuroStar System, is sponsoring the study.
Noninvasive Outpatient Therapy
TMS Therapy is an innovative and promising new alternative to currently available treatments for patients with a major depressive disorder. TMS Therapy is not invasive; it does not require anesthesia, and it can be administered in an outpatient setting. Here’s how it works: High strength magnetic pulses much like those used in MRI technology pass through the skull and stimulate the neurons in the part of the brain that scientists believe regulates mood. TMS Therapy non-invasively stimulates the brain by creating a pulsed magnetic field. The patient, who is fully awake, sits upright in a chair for the entire 45-minute procedure. Patients in the study will receive treatment for six weeks.
Proven Technology, New Application
The general technique of TMS is well established:
- Since the 1980s, TMS has been used in humans to study the nerve fibers that carry information about movements from the brain to the spinal cord and the muscles.
- More than 20 randomized and controlled trials of TMS as a treatment for depression have already been published.
- There are over 2,000 TMS devices in use all over the world; they are being used to investigate an assortment of neurological functions, including attention, memory, movement, speech, and vision.
- In Canada and Israel, TMS is being used to treat depression.
Call for Patients
Qualified patients are needed to volunteer to participate in this study. To qualify, patients must:
- Be between 18 and 70 years old.
- Be suffering from a major depressive disorder.
- Be able to provide written documentation that they have been treated unsuccessfully with antidepressant medication.
Patients who have been diagnosed with bipolar illness (manic depression) or obsessive-compulsive disorder are not eligible to participate in the trial.
For more information or to volunteer, call 1-800-345-8707, or visit www.neuronetics.com.
