New Hope to People Living with Depression

June 26, 2009 - PRLog -- Sibley Memorial Hospital announced that it is now providing treatment with the NeuroStar® Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) Therapy system. The NeuroStar TMS Therapy system is the first and only device of its kind to be cleared for the treatment of depression by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (October 2008). The device is clinically proven for the treatment of major depression in adults who have failed to achieve satisfactory improvement from prior antidepressant medication.

TMS Therapy is a non-systemic (does not circulate in the bloodstream throughout the body) and non-invasive (does not involve surgery) form of neuromodulation that delivers highly-focused MRI-strength magnetic pulses to stimulate nerve cells in an area of the brain that is linked to depression. NeuroStar TMS Therapy is a 40-minute outpatient procedure that is prescribed by a psychiatrist, does not require anesthesia or sedation, and patients remain awake and alert. The treatment is typically administered daily for 4-6 weeks.

NeuroStar TMS Therapy was demonstrated to be effective and safe in the treatment of depression in clinical trials. It was studied in patients who failed to receive satisfactory improvement from prior antidepressant medication. These patients had received a median of 4 total prior antidepressant treatment attempts in the current episode, one of which achieved treatment adequacy at or above the minimal effective dose and duration.

For more information about TMS at Sibley’s Behavioral Health Program can be found here:

http://www.sibley.org/services/s_tms.tmpl

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Sibley is a non-profit, full-service 328 bed acute care community hospital serving the Washington, DC area. For nearly 120 years, we have set our sights on providing compassionate and medically advanced care.