TMS Media Coverage

NeuroStar transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) was cleared by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD) in adolescents in March 2024.1 Psychiatric Times® spoke with Kenneth Pages, MD, medical director of TMS of South Tampa, about the treatment and what its FDA clearance for adolescents means for the future of MDD treatment.
Psychiatric Times: With the recent FDA clearance for NeuroStar Adva

TMS therapy, or transcranial magnetic stimulation, is a noninvasive (non-surgical) form of therapy that uses a series of short, magnetic pulses to stimulate nerve cells in your brain. TMS doesn’t require anesthesia and is usually well-tolerated—sometimes even better than antidepressants.1
The most common goal of TMS therapy is to provide relief and help break the cycle of certain mental health conditions. It’s often used for depression, but it might also help treat obsessive-compulsive dis

TMS is approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD, or depression), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and smoking cessation.2
Major depressive disorder is typically treated with medications, psychotherapy, or a combination of both. Some people with depression do not find adequate relief with these measures. When symptoms persist even with standard treatment, this is called treatment-resistant depression (TRD).3

It’s a disorder that impacts millions. And for some living with depression, it’s tough to treat.
A depression treatment you might not be aware of is yielding fantastic results.
It’s called transcranial magnetic stimulation and it sounds a lot scarier than it actually is. While it’s not a new method of treatment, doctors are working to get the word out because it really can help people with what psychiatrists call “treatment-resistant depression.”

Eric Clark knows first hand. He struggled with depression for most of his life.
“I’ve been dealing with mental health illness, like depression, since I was 14. About five years ago, I kind of was in a low place and I started seeking treatment,” said Clark.
For years, he tried different treatments and medications until he found something that worked. Not medication, but magnets.

By making slight modifications to an already approved brain stimulation technique called transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), researchers have reported profound improvement in patients with hard-to-treat depression. Overall, 66% of patients with major depressive disorder who took part in the study responded to the novel treatment, and 42% showed acute remission. This is significantly higher than the 29% response rate reported for the standard FDA-approved protocol and also better than the response rates reported for alternative evidence-based protocols.

PELHAM, Ala (WBMA) — The United States faces an urgent mental health crisis.
An increasing number of people are dealing with depression. However, many are not receiving treatment for it.
Now there’s a new treatment option for depression that offers some hope.
“For me it would morph. One day it would be everything makes me angry. One day it would be I feel like someone’s thrown 20 weighted blankets on me and I cannot move,” Amanda Bacon said, “It’s immobilizing. It’s numbness. its not caring at all.”

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) is a treatment for depression using magnets to change brain activity.
TMS has been FDA-approved for depression, migraines with aura, OCD, and smoking cessation.
There are several TMS protocols being utilized and researched for different conditions.
“It will feel like a woodpecker knocking against a helmet,” the psychiatrist said as we discussed my beginning Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation

Dr. Ahmed Bayoumi struggled to find an effective treatment for his depression for years before he found the Treatment-Resistant Depression Program at UTHealth Houston.
Dr. Ahmed Bayoumi never realized how much his depression was affecting his life until his father provided a wake-up call six months ago.
Bayoumi, 30, knew he’d been struggling to manage his symptoms since he was first diagnosed with clinical depression in 2016.

Artificial intelligence. Gene editing. mRNA vaccines. It’s safe to say the past few decades have felt like the next big wave of medicine. However, what continues to be needed in virtually every field is a personalized approach to care.
That’s certainly needed when it comes to using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to treat depression, said Medical University of South Carolina Distinguished University Professor Mark George, M.D.

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