Magnetic stimulation scores modest success as antidepressant

Some depressed patients who don't respond to or tolerate antidepressant medications may benefit from a non-invasive treatment that stimulates the brain with a pulsing electromagnet, a study suggests. This first industry-independent, multi-site, randomized, tightly controlled trial of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation found that it produced significant antidepressant effects in a subgroup of patients, with few side effects. Active rTMS treatment accounted for remissions in 14 percent of antidepressant-resistant patients actively treated.

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