Posted by Scott L. Schofield on January 6, 2000, at 11:17:09
In reply to Re: New ECT-type thing?, posted by royubu on January 4, 2000, at 8:23:48
> > Perhaps you are thinking of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS). There are some posts about this a couple of months ago, including someone who participated in a study. You can read some abstracts on it through pubmed, and other search engines.
> Yep, this must be it ... now that I know the name, I can research it myself! Thanks!The proper abbreviation for this treatment is rTMS – repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation. I know only a tiny bit about it. It has been used with some success in pilot studies, but I haven’t followed up on whether or not large clinical trials have begun.
In a similar fashion to ECT, two magnetic stimulation pads are placed on the forehead separated by some distance. The placement of the pads between the left temporal lobe and the frontal cortex seems to be the focus of the investigations. When activated, a very strong magnetic field is created between them. The field is actually turned on and off repeatedly – thus the “r” for repetitive. One of the objects of the studies is to find the optimal frequency of this on-off cycle to induce an antidepressant effect. (I don’t know if it is being studied for any other indication – mania for instance). It is not necessary to induce convulsions for rTMS to have its therapeutic effect.
Dr. Mark George at the University of South Carolina has had perhaps the most experience regarding this treatment. I believe another major site of investigation is located in Australia.
- Scott
poster:Scott L. Schofield
thread:17934
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000101/msgs/18203.html