When antidepressants fail, TMS therapy works wonders.

Pinnacle Behavioral Health
3 min readApr 6, 2022

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Most people seeking help for depression will be referred by their doctor to antidepressants. This is a disadvantage because it can lead to long waiting lists and a lack of resources. However, cognitive therapy might not be an option.

Many people find antidepressants useful. There are side effects that can cause nausea, dizziness, and sleep disturbances. Some people may not experience depression symptoms. It is unclear why this is the case, and it is difficult to predict who will be able to benefit from it.

Recent research has shown that a new treatment could be used to maintain major depressive disorder for those who cannot or won’t take antidepressant medication.Tms Therapy

Pulses to generate magnetic energy

Transcranial magnet stimulation or tms depression is a treatment that uses magnets to place magnets on the head and send magnetic energy to the brain areas that regulate mood. Minor headaches are the most common side effects of treatment.

Pilot Research

Half the patients received transcranial magnetic stimulation therapy for six weeks. Half of the patients were followed up monthly. The researchers found that 61.2 percent of patients who had received TMS had a complete remission in six weeks and 62.5 percent three years later. This is compared to 43.8 percent of patients who did not receive TMS treatment.

“This pilot study has shown that maintenance TMS can help prevent major depression from recurrences and it is an important step towards finding the optimal treatment parameters,” said Dr. Scott Aaronson, director of Clinical Research Programs and associate medical director at Sheppard prtt.

“These preliminary data will allow us to develop a maintenance strategy of TMS Therapy, as we gain a better understanding of its long-term effectiveness for the treatment of patients with this chronic disease.”

Researchers presented the results of their research at the 167th Annual Meeting of American Psychiatric Association, New York. The manufacturer claims the treatment is safe. Patients are not put to bed before they receive treatment, unlike ECT (Electroconvulsive Therapy). TMS can also be administered in the doctor’s office. The medication is typically administered daily for between four to six weeks.

Effective at a rate of more than 50%

In a May 2014 study, more than half of severe depression patients treated with TMS had no or very low symptoms within one year. After the same time, 38% of patients receiving antidepressants dropped to 38%.

Transcranial magnetic stimulation therapy may be considered by the Clinic. It is an effective treatment for depression and has very few side effects. Although some studies have shown that only a small percentage of people respond to the treatment, doctors believe at least 25% will benefit.

Expensive

TMS can cost up to $10,000 and be more expensive than medication. TMS can be more affordable than medication because it is unlikely to last as long as medication. TMS treatment has been covered by some insurance companies in the United States.

TMS in the United Kingdom

TMS is not available in all parts of the United Kingdom or Europe. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence states that doctors in the UK are not permitted to administer TMS to patients as part of an NHS study.

Contradictory findings

Right now, it is unclear how it works. It has been disputed whether it works. A study with 11 studies and 197 participants showed a significant improvement two weeks later. However, this did not happen again. Another 33 studies involving 877 participants showed no difference between placebo and TMS. TMS and ECT were compared in a second study. Ten percent of the twenty patients who received TMS were cured. Sixteen of the 15 who received ECT were cured.

Any treatment that can help with depression symptoms is a good option. If other treatments have failed, transcranial magnetic stimulation therapy may be an option.

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Pinnacle Behavioral Health
Pinnacle Behavioral Health

Written by Pinnacle Behavioral Health

After years of managing inpatient and outpatient facilities and programs, Ms. Hunt founded Pinnacle Behavioral. Visit Us: https://pinnaclebehavioralhealth.com/

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