Depression can be a terrible nightmare, and experts have been working for a long time in order to try and find a cure. Now, more and more cases popped up all over the world, especially since the globe drowned in the coronavirus pandemic.
Experts never sleep and they seem to have found a successful treatment. Check out the latest reports below.
New study on treating depression
A new study from Stanford University on a new protocol for treating severe depression using transcranial magnetic stimulation has shown overwhelming success.
This resulted in remission for 79% of people in the 29-person double-blind trial.
IFL Science notes the fact that treatment has been used previously against depression, but the new protocol is an individualized and non-invasive method.
It’s also worth noting the fact that this worked well in alleviating severe depression and providing lasting benefits for the patient. Their research was published in The American Journal of Psychiatry.
“It works well, it works quickly and it’s noninvasive.”
This is what Nolan Williams, MD, assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, in a statement.
“It could be a game changer.”
The protocol builds on an already-approved stimulation treatment, called intermittent theta-burst stimulation (iTBS). During the course of iTBS, here’s what reportedly happens:
“magnetic pulses are delivered to the region of the brain thought to be implicated in depression every day for six weeks – however, the treatment takes a long time and results vary largely by case.”
29 patients were split into two groups: the ones receiving the new Stanford neuromodulation therapy (SNT), and the ones receiving a sham treatment.
After just five days of treatment, 78.6% of the participants receiving SNT went into remission and completed several requirements to no longer be diagnosed as depressed.
“Out of the 14 participants treated, 12 saw an improvement in their symptoms in four weeks and 11 were characterized by the FDA evaluations as in remission, whereas just two of the 15 patients in the sham group met the same criteria.”
Treatment side effects
There were some side-effects, including temporary fatigue and headaches. Stay tuned for more interesting news and health issues and more!
