Summary of an article by Nick Zagorski, Psychiatric News, June 5, 2020
Researchers at Stanford University tested an accelerated form of transcranial magnetic stimulation called Stanford Accelerated Intelligent Neuromodulation Therapy (SAINT). Instead of one session a day for six weeks, participants received ten short sessions of intermittent theta-burst stimulation each day for five days. Each person’s treatment target was located with an MRI brain scan.
The pilot study enrolled 22 adults with moderate to severe depression who had not responded to at least one antidepressant. Of the 21 who completed treatment, 19 met the criteria for remission after five days. Average depression scores fell from 35 to 5 on the Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale, and 60% of participants were still in remission at a one-month follow-up. The study found no cognitive side effects, and the most common complaints were fatigue and mild facial muscle discomfort.
Lead author Nolan Williams, M.D., cautioned that this was a small, open-label study with no placebo group, and that larger controlled trials were needed.
Read the full article: New TMS Protocol Turns Six Weeks of Treatment Into One, Nick Zagorski, Psychiatric News, Volume 55, Number 11 (June 2020).