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Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation for Depression

If you’re looking to eliminate or reduce your depression symptoms, you may want to consider TMS depression treatment. Learn the benefits of this revolutionary treatment for depression, how TMS therapy works and where to find service providers.

Advantages of TMS Depression Treatment

Transcranial magnetic stimulation therapy can even benefit patients with severe clinical depression, including those who haven’t had success with other methods of treatment for depression.

If you’re considering transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS therapy) as a treatment for depression, consider these advantages:

• TMS depression treatment is non-invasive.
• TMS therapy can be performed in a doctor’s office or outpatient clinic. Since no anesthesia is necessary, you can drive home with no after-effects.
• TMS therapy is painless.
• Unlike electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), TMS therapy doesn’t cause memory loss or other cognitive side effects.
• Unlike some antidepressants, TMS depression treatment doesn’t cause weight gain or sexual side effects.

How TMS Therapy Works as Treatment for Depression

TMS therapy for depression uses short bursts of magnetic energy to stimulate a small, targeted area of the brain believed to function abnormally in depressed individuals. In TMS depression therapy, the transcranial magnetic stimulation produces electricity in the brain, changing the rate of activity of the neurons (nerve cells). These resulting changes decrease the symptoms of clinical depression.

TMS Depression Therapy Procedure

During the TMS therapy procedure, the technician will place a magnetic coil directly on your forehead; nothing needs to be implanted in the brain or injected into the skin. TMS depression therapy is not painful, since the patient can’t feel the electrical impulses generated by the magnetic field. There is some noise while the magnetic field is being generated, however, which some patients find difficult to tolerate.

A single treatment takes about 40 minutes. TMS therapy generally lasts four to six weeks, with one treatment administered per day.

Find a TMS Depression Therapy Provider

Transcranial magnetic stimulation therapy is not yet widely available in the United States. On the West Coast, you may find limited TMS therapy centers in Los Angeles or San Francisco, California. If you find yourself on the East Coast, you may receive TMS depression treatment in Long Island, New York. You may also find TMS treatment centers in Sugar Land or Austin, Texas.

If you’re looking for a transcranial magnetic stimulation provider in your area, the Internet is a great tool. For example, depressed individuals can visit the Neuronetics website to find a provider of NeuroStar TMS Therapy®, the first transcranial magnetic therapy procedure to be cleared by the U.S. FDA (Food and Drug Administration).

Resources
Neuronetics Staff. (2010). How TMS therapy works. Retrieved May 27, 2010, from the Neuronetics website: neuronetics.com/Prod-How.aspx.

Neuronetics Staff. (2010). Patient FAQs. Retrieved May 27, 2010, from the NeuroStar TMS Therapy website: www.NeuroStartms.com/NeuroStarTMSTherapyforDepression/NeuroStarTMS-Faqs.aspx.

Neuronetics Staff. (2010). The NeuroStar TMS Therapy® system. Retrieved May 27, 2010, from the Neuronetics website: neuronetics.com/Prod-System.aspx.

TMS Center of New England Staff. (n.d.). Transcranial magnetic stimulation: A revolutionary treatment. Retrieved May 27, 2010 from the website: www.tmsnewengland.com/About_TMS_Therapy.html.