TMS treatment shows breakthroughs for depression

Data pooled from more than 1100 people who received Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) over the last decade showed more than 500 people overcame depression following TMS treatment.

All of the patients suffered depression and had not responded to traditional medication. 

Professor Paul Fitzgerald, Professor of Psychiatry at the Alfred and Monash University, said the effectiveness of TMS has not previously been measured on this scale. TMS is an approved form of treatment in Australia for depression but is only offered at a limited number of facilities. 

The non-invasive treatment uses magnetic fields to stimulate areas of the brain. It does not require patients to be put under general anaesthetic and has a much faster recovery time than Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT), which is also used to treat patients with depression.  

“The drop-out rates for people undergoing TMS are a fraction of those on a medicated treatment plan because the treatment is much better tolerated,” Professor Fitzgerald said.

“If TMS was not available, these people would continue to cycle through different medications or undergo ECT, which can have unwanted side-effects such as memory impairment.”

Professor Fitzgerald said the centre is currently investigating whether TMS can be used to treat a range of other conditions, including Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Alzheimer’s disease and Fibromyalgia. 

The findings of the study have been published in the journal, Depression and Anxiety.