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YOUR HEALTH: Deep stimulation could help relieve depression

A treatment sending magnetic pulses to the brain is helping some patients battle back from depression

RALEIGH, N.C. — It's estimated more than 16 million Americans suffer from depression, but for half of them medications don't work.

Now, a non-invasive, drug free option called Deep TMS is being used to help bring relief to some patients.

Kristi Miller has struggled with anxiety and depression since she was 13.

"I would have this intense feeling in my chest like it was so tight and I couldn't breathe."

The busy teacher has tried more than 30 anti-depressant medications but over time they would stop working.

Dr. Sandeep Vaishnavi says newer options like Deep TMS, or transcranial magnetic stimulation, can be very effective.

"What this technology is doing is that it's stimulating the brain using these magnetic pulses," said Dr.Vaishnavi, a neuropsychiatrist and the Medical Director of The Brain Stimulation Service at Mindpath Care Centers at Carolina Partners.

He says that causes the networks in the brain to change over time.

"We want to make that cognitive control network, the prefrontal cortex, we want it to be more efficient so it can modulate the emotional brain."

The patient is fitted with Brainsway's Deep TMS helmet that sends magnetic pulses to the brain.

The patient undergoes a 20 minute session where they feel a light tapping on the side of their head.

Results have been dramatic: a recent study found that only eleven percent went into remission with medication alone.

"But with TMS and medications it was 60%," said Dr. Vaishnavi.

Kristi says she felt a difference after the very first session.

"It was like all the colors in the sky were just brighter."

The patient generally undergoes a series of 36 sessions in combination with medication and or therapy. 

Doctors say there's a very small risk of seizures but say it's less than one in 30,000 sessions. 

The American Psychiatric Association guidelines suggest TMS after one medication failure.

Deep TMS has also been FDA-approved to treat obsessive compulsive disorder. 

If this story has impacted your life or prompted you or someone you know to seek or change treatments, please let us know by contacting Jim Mertens at jim.mertens@wqad.com or Marjorie Bekaert Thomas at mthomas@ivanhoe.com.

 

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