Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS)

A burgeoning number of researchers are investigating an old idea--that the brain is an electromagnetic organ and disorders like depression may result from disarray in the brain's electromagnetic functioning.

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The idea has huge appeal to psychiatrists and patients alike since for many people the side effects of psychiatric drugs are almost as difficult to manage as the depressive disorder itself. Further, about 30 percent of those who suffer from depression do not respond to the antidepressants available now.

In rTMS, a magnetic coil placed on the scalp creates fields that induce mild electric currents in the brain. Much as a defibrillator shocks a heart into beating regularly, the magnetic pulses may jolt nerve cells into functioning more regularly. In clinical trials, many patients who failed to respond to several other treatments improved within a week of rTMS treatment, and the vast majority were significantly better after two weeks of daily 20-minute sessions.