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TMS Therapy for Depression

For decades, researchers have sought safe and effective treatments for depression. However, there is no single depression treatment which has been proven to work for everyone. Depression is often treated with antidepressant medications; however, alternative treatments for depression are available. These depression therapies have been shown to work in people who do not receive benefit from medications or cannot tolerate the side effects caused by them. One alternative therapy for the treatment of depression is transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). NeuroStar TMS Therapy was recently FDA-cleared for patients suffering from depression who have not achieved satisfactory improvement from prior antidepressant medications.

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS)

Transcranial magnetic stimulation therapy uses short pulses of magnetic fields to stimulate nerve cells in the area of the brain thought to control mood. It is sometimes referred to as rTMS which stands for repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation. TMS patients receiving TMS Therapy remain awake and alert during the procedure.

NeuroStar TMS Therapy ® is an outpatient procedure. The typical treatment course consists of at least 5 treatments per week over a 4-6 week period for 20-30 treatments. Each depression treatment session lasts approximately 37 minutes. NeuroStar TMS Therapy is:

• Non-invasive, meaning that it does not involve surgery. It does not require any anesthesia or sedation, as the patient remains awake and alert during the treatment.
• Non-systemic, meaning that it is not taken by mouth and does not circulate in the bloodstream throughout the body.
• FDA cleared for patients who have not benefited from prior antidepressant treatment.

Neurostar® Efficacy

Clinical trials have demonstrated the effectiveness of NeuroStar® TMS Therapy in treating patients who have not benefited from prior antidepressant medication. NeuroStar TMS Therapy was studied in adult patients suffering from Major Depressive Disorder, all of whom had not received satisfactory improvement with previous treatments.

An Effective Option for Treating Major Depressive Disorder

In a study where 307 patients received active treatment (similar to a real clinical context), as well as a 12 month follow up, over half of the patients treated with NeuroStar TMS Therapy experienced significant improvement in their depression symptoms. About a third of the patients treated with NeuroStar TMS Therapy experienced complete symptom relief at the end of six weeks. The study consisted of 307 available unipolar, non-psychotic MDD patients in acute phase.¹

Patients treated with NeuroStar® also experienced significant improvement in anxiety and physical symptoms (such as appetite changes, aches and pains, and lack of energy) associated with depression.¹

Additionally, Neuronetics has developed a new tool to use in educating patients on the best practices of treating depression. The Best Practices Treatment Guideline for Depression has been developed to help patients understand TMS Therapy as an option if their first line antidepressant medications stop working. This guideline is based on the 2010 American Psychiatric Association's practice guidelines and NeuroStar TMS Therapy indication for use, which says:

NeuroStar TMS Therapy is indicated for the treatment of major depressive disorder in adult patients who have failed to achieve satisfactory improvement from prior antidepressant medication at or above the minimal effective dose and duration in the current episode.

Please see the Treatment Algorithm for an effective illustration of the use of NeuroStar TMS Therapy early on in the treatment of depression.

NeuroStar TMS Therapy has not been studied in patients who have not received prior antidepressant treatment. Its effectiveness has also not been established in patients that have failed to receive benefit from two or more prior antidepressant medications at minimal effective dose and duration in the current episode.

View TMS Therapy safety data

References:

1. Demitrack, MA, Thase, ME. Clinical significance of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) in the treatment of pharmacoresistant depression: synthesis of recent data. Psychopharm Bull. 2009, 42(2): 5-38.

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