Magnetic stimulation shows promise for depression:
This article was originally published in Clinica
Executive Summary
Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS), a treatment for severe depression that involves delivering brief intense magnetic pulses to the brain, may provide a promising alternative to electroconvulsive (ETC) therapy, according to data due to appear in an upcoming issue of Biological Psychiatry. In a study of 25 patients, researchers found that both therapies produced significant improvement in symptoms. However, rTMS appeared to produce fewer harmful side effects than ETC therapy, said study researcher Philip Janicak, of the University of Illinois at Chicago.