Therapy Approved by FDA for Treatment-resistant Depression

Millions of patients with treatment-resistant clinical depression, who have struggled for years with disability and how to cope with their condition, now have an option that could help them lead more productive and successful lives.

The NeuroStar TMS (Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation) Therapy system, developed by Neuronetics, Inc. and initiated by research at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), is the first and only approved TMS Therapy® device cleared by the Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of severe depression (Oct. 7). Patients must be adults with major depressive disorder, commonly known as treatment-resistant depression, who have failed to improve their condition with other treatments or medication.

MUSC currently is the only location in South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, and Florida with this treatment option for depression. Patients will have access to the therapy at MUSC within two months.

MUSC Distinguished University Professor of Psychiatry and Brain Stimulation Laboratory Director Mark George, M.D., played a major role in developing this technology since its beginnings in the late 1980s.

“Everyone in the Brain Stimulation Laboratory has worked so hard for so many years on these studies,” he said. “They all deserve credit, as well as many other colleagues who helped to develop the necessary medical equipment to make this therapy a reality. Despite the gloom and doom that seems to surround us, the world is slightly better today than yesterday, as patients with depression have another option to try and relieve their pain and suffering.”

George also credited NARSAD (the world’s leading charity dedicated to mental health research) with a large role in advancing the new treatment by providing funding and continued support for the first trials involving this kind of treatment.

In addition to this trial that resulted in FDA approval, MUSC is conducting an NIMH (National Mental Institutes of Health) sponsored, double-blind clinical trial for TMS that will conclude in December.

How it works
TMS Therapy is a non-systemic (does not circulate in the bloodstream) and non-invasive (no surgery) form of neuromodulation which stimulates nerve cells in an area of the brain that is linked to depression, by delivering highly focused MRI-strength magnetic pulses. Patients treated with NeuroStar TMS Therapy do not require anesthesia or sedation and remain awake and alert. It is a 40-minute outpatient procedure that is prescribed by a psychiatrist and performed in a psychiatrist’s office. The treatment is typically administered daily for 4-6 weeks. Cost of the treatment is approximately $200-300 per session.

In the randomized controlled trial conducted for the FDA, the therapy showed significant treatment effects without systemic side effects such as weight gain or sexual dysfunction.