A type of therapy that involves applying a magnetic field to both sides of the brain has been shown to be effective at rapidly treating depression in patients for whom standard treatments have been ineffective. The treatment—known as repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)—involves placing an electromagnetic coil against the scalp to relay a high-frequency magnetic field to the brain. Around one in 20 adults is estimated to suffer from depression .
Although treatments exist, such as anti-depressant medication and cognitive behavioral therapy ("talking therapy"), they are ineffective for just under one in three patients. One of the key characteristics of depression is under-activity of some regions (such as the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex ) and over-activity of others (such as the orbitofrontal cortex [OFC]). Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation applied to the left side of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (an area at the upper front area of the brain) is approved for treatment of depression in the UK by NICE and in the US by the FDA.
It has previously been shown to lead to considerable improvements among patients after a course of 20 sessions, but because the sessions usually take place over 20–30 days, the treatment is not ideal for everyone, particularly in acute cases or where a person is suicidal. In research published in Psychological Medicine , scientists from Cambridge, UK, and Guiyang, China, tested how effective an accelerated form of TMS.
