About two million adults in the United States suffer from
bipolar disorder, a form of
depression characterized by extremely high and low mood cycles. Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation or TMS, is a kind of magnet therapy that is being used to treat depression. Bipolar disorder's low mood cycles of depression can be treated with magnet therapy. TMS is a good way to treat a patient's depression and the effects of bipolar disorder.
In the case of Norma Neal of Charleston, South Carolina, it drove her to attempt suicide after the failure of countless medications and therapies left her feeling hopeless. Then she heard about Dr. Mark George of the Medical University of South Carolina and his experimental work treating depression using magnetic energy in a therapy called Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS).
For the first time in her life, according to Norma, she feels as though life is worth living. Below are answers to questions Dr. George is frequently asked about TMS:
TMS activates certain parts of the brain by using electrical energy passed through a coil of wires to create a powerful magnetic field. During the procedure, energy from this magnetic field is transferred into a patient's brain by means of the coil device applied to the head. Unlike direct electrical energy, energy from the magnetic field passes through skin and skull, activating the brain painlessly and without surgery or sedation. We apply TMS to the front area of the brain, an area associated with mood regulation. Not unlike many anti-depressant medications, TMS affects brain functions and chemical activity, effectively "jump -starting" mood regulation structures in the brain, resulting in dramatic improvements in depressed patients.
TMS is a non-invasive procedure that is performed on awake, alert adults with generally no discomfort. The most successful TMS treatments for depression occur when patients undergo TMS every day for about 20 minutes for several weeks. Often, there is no noticeable mood change during the first week, but starting with week two, dramatic positive responses to treatment can be seen in this out-patient procedure.
One of the benefits of TMS is its accuracy. It allows practitioners to target very specific parts of the brain, leaving other areas alone. In fact, by getting rid of the depression, patients' ability to think and function actually improves. TMS patients report that they feel "themselves" again.
