TMS Research

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a new magnetic stimulation device that is designed to treat patients with treatment-resistant major depressive disorder (MDD) in just 3 minutes.

The Express Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) device, from MagVenture, has been approved by the FDA—expediting the treatment session speed set only by the company’s preceding TMS device when it was first cleared in 2008. What was once a treatment regimen that required patients with MDD to undergo a 30-minute-plus session 20-30 times, is now capable of being completed in just 3 minutes per session.

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Open-label transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) reduced suicidal ideation in adolescents with treatment-resistant depression, according to the results of a study published in the Journal of Affective Disorders.

Suicide is a leading cause of death among adolescents worldwide.

In the United States, nearly 20% of adolescents [KL1] consider suicide, 15% have formulated plans for suicide, and almost 10% attempt suicide annually. Despite efforts to reduce suicide, the rate of suicide attempts and successful suicide continues to increase in the United States. Early attempts also predict similar behavior in adulthood.

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The effect of an acute course of high-frequency repetitive Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) on suicidal ideation in adolescents was examined in this exploratory study. Researchers obtained data from 3 prior protocols providing a 30-session course of open-label TMS treatment for adolescents with treatment-resistant depression . . . Findings revealed that in adolescents, open-label TMS alleviated suicidal ideation through the treatment and improvement of depressive symptom severity.

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Intermittent theta burst stimulation, a shorter version of the 37-minute repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation that can be delivered in 3 minutes, was noninferior to the longer version for treatment-resistant depression, findings published in The Lancet revealed.

“Several pilot trials and two meta-analyses indicate that [intermittent theta burst stimulation] is superior to sham treatment for treatment-resistant depression. However, the key practical question is whether [intermittent theta burst stimulation] performs comparably to the existing standard of care,” Daniel M. Blumberger, MD,of the department of psychiatry, University of Toronto, and colleagues wrote.

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A study published in the Journal of Affective Disorders demonstrated the cognitive safety of H1-coil transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) treatment for individuals with bipolar depression.

The exploratory study sought to evaluate the effects of H1-coil TMS treatment on 6 cognitive domains (attention and processing speed, inhibitory control, working memory and executive function, language, immediate verbal memory, and long-term verbal memory) in subjects with bipolar depression.

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TORONTO, April 26, 2018 – In the largest study of its kind, a three-minute version of a brain stimulation treatment was shown to be just as effective as the standard 37-minute version for hard-to-treat depression.

These results were published in a new Canadian study in The Lancet co-led by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) and the University Health Network's Krembil Research Institute, in collaboration with the University of British Columbia.

The treatment is called repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS), which is a form of treatment that uses magnetic field pulses to non-invasively stimulate a part of the brain called the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, which is associated with mood regulation. The study compared standard rTMS treatment, which uses high frequency (10 Hz) brain stimulation for 37.5 minutes per session, with a newer form of rTMS called intermittent theta burst stimulation (iTBS), that mimics the brain's natural rhythms and takes just over three minutes per treatment.

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Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is a noninvasive treatment approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of clinical depression. The treatment is also being studied as a potential therapy for Alzheimer’s disease.

How rTMS works:
Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia, affecting millions of mostly elderly people around the world. In these people, the synaptic activity (connections between nerve cells) collapses and brain networks gradually falter, resulting in a decline in memory and the ability to think and learn.

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