Second RTMS Device Approved for Treatment-Resistant Depression
In 2008, the Federal Drug Administration approved the Neuronetics company’s Neuro-Star system for delivering repeated transcranial magnetic stimulation to patients with treatment-resistant depression. In rTMS treatment, an electromagnetic coil is placed against the forehead and magnetic pulses that can penetrate the scalp are converted into small electrical currents that stimulate neurons in the brain. Now the FDA has approved a second device manufactured by Brainsway Ltd.
In 2012, Brainsway released data from their double-blind, multicenter controlled trials of the device. After five weeks of treatment, 30.4% of the patients who received the rTMS treatment achieved remission of their depression, twice the rate of remission among the patients who received a sham procedure instead.
Editor’s Note: These data showing slightly higher response rates than seen in two trials by Neuronetics confirm the efficacy of rTMS in patients whose depression persists after one or more trials with antidepressant medications. The efficacy of rTMS in those patients who have failed to respond to multiple antidepressant medications remains to be further defined, as do the optimal stimulation parameters to achieve the best results in this difficult-to-treat sub-group of patients.
