Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Magic magnets licensed in the U.S.
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation therapy (TMS) has been licensed for the treatment of severe depression in the U.S. The therapy does not involve drugs or invasive procedures and works by stimulating nerve cells in an area of the brain that is linked to depression by delivering highly-focused magnetic pulses. The treatment takes around 40 minutes and does not require anaesthesia or sedation. Over 10,000 treatments performed so far have produced only minor side effects of mild-to-moderate scalp pain.
You can find out more about Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation therapy at
http://psychcentral.com/news/2008/10/13/last-chance-therapy-for-depression/3119.html
Labels: Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation
Friday, March 14, 2008
The term vascular depression has been used to describe late-life depressive disorders in patients with evidence of cerebrovascular disease. Some studies have suggested that vascular depression is more long-lasting and more resistant to treatment than early-onset depression. Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), in which powerful magnets are moved back and forth over the skull, has been proved to have an antidepressant effect in some studies but little research has been done on its effectiveness in treating older people or those with cerebrovascular problems. Researchers in Iowa studied 92 patients with vascular depression giving one group TMS and the other a sham treatment. In a second experiment the dose of TMS was increased without telling the patients. This was important as it is quite hard to produce a realistic 'sham' treatment for TMS. The researchers hoped that a higher dose of TMS would produce more positive results which were definitely down to the treatment rather than just positive thinking. In both experiments TMS proved far superior to a sham treatment and the higher dose turned out to be more effective than a lower one.
Jorge, Ricardo E. ... [et al] - Treatment of vascular depression using repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation Archives of General Psychiatry March 2008, 65(3), 268-276
Labels: Depression, Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Transcranial magnetic stimulation
Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a non-invasive technique that excites neurons in the brain by magnetic pulses introduced through the scalp. It has generally mild side effects and is well tolerated by patients. Research studies on smaller groups of patients have been inconclusive as to its benefits but the first large-scale, multi-centre, double-blind, sham-controlled study of TMS carried out by researchers at Rush University Medical Centre in the U.S. has found that TMS was twice as effective as a 'sham' procedure. The study's author said "these results indicate that TMS provides a novel and attractive treatment option for patients with major depression who have not responded to conventional antidepressant medications".
You can find out more about this study at
http://psychcentral.com/news/2007/11/26/magnetic-stimulation-for-depression/1573.html
Labels: Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation
Tuesday, September 06, 2005
Magnets can turn the voices down but not make them go away
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) involves passing powerful magnets over the skull in an attempt to change the brain circuitry underneath. It has shown promising results in the treatment of major depression and, in some studies, for auditory hallucinations (hearing voices) in schizophrenia. A recent study of TMS involving 33 schizophrenics has, unfortunately, shown less promising results. TMS was found to be safe with no adverse effects on memory or cognition but, apart from reducing the volume of auditory hallucinations, was found to have little therapeutic effect either.
Fitzgerald, Paul B. ... [et al] - A double-blind sham-controlled trial of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation in the treatment of refractory auditory hallucinations. Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology August 2005, 25(4), 358-362
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