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Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation For Depression
First introduced in 1985 as a new method of noninvasive stimulation of the
brain, transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a method that involves placement
of a small coil over the scalp and fast alternating current is passed through
the coil wire, which produces a magnetic field that goes unhindered through
the brain. This method was first used to study nerve conduction. Notice in the
use of transcranial magnetic stimulation for depression was impelled by the
development of an apparatus that could deliver fast, repetitive stimulation.
In distinction from electroconvulsive therapy, transcranial magnetic stimulation
for depression does not necessitate anesthesia, and does not encourage a convulsion.
Particularly, initial studies suggested that transcranial magnetic stimulation
of the prefrontal cortex was connected with antidepressant characteristics.
At present time, although devices for transcranial magnetic stimulation have
gotten approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for analytic
uses, no device has received FDA consent for transcranial magnetic stimulation
of the brain as a healing method. One device has received approval in Canada
and Israel, the NeoPulse (Neuronetic, Atlanta GA) as a therapy for depression.
TMS of the brain is considered investigational as a treatment of all psychiatric
disorders including depression, but not limited to it. Transcranial magnetic
stimulation for depression or other mood disorders on its published writing
is made up of small controlled trials of limited follow-up, comprising of different
patient population, stimulation parameters, and location of stimulus. Although
some studies of transcranial magnetic stimulation for depression suggest the
potential of this method of treatment, others find no benefit.
A new study from the University of Bonn, lately published in the British Journal
of Psychiatry, shows that repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation for depression
(rTMS) offers almost the same decrease in depression symptoms as electroconvulsive
therapy (ECT), but with no side effects on memory or other cognitive harms that
ECT has.
The researchers warn though, that because of the small sample size of only
thirty patients engaged in the study, and the separation of patient groups was
not made on a random basis, their conclusion may not be wholly dependable. However,
with other investigations also having signified that rTMS can better the mood
of depression sufferers, this new discovery on memory side effects is very promising.
For a lot of people experiencing major depression, treatment such as psychotherapy
or medication or a combination of both, can be effective in helping overcome
the symptoms. However, for about one in twenty depression sufferers, symptoms
are so intense that neither these alternatives work for them, thus they seek
a more effective treatments.
The position of transcranial magnetic stimulation for depression requires further
study, and it is not known whether it would be used as an alternative to electroconvulsive
therapy or simply an optional extra to partially effective pharmacologic therapy.
Lastly, currently, there are no devices of TMS that have received approval from
FDA as a treatment of any neuropsychiatric disorder, which includes depression.
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