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TMS gets less positive review

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Contrary to the glowing media reports of almost magical properties, an FDA advisory panel has essentially concluded that TMS doesn't work. Better said, the NeuroStar machine made by Neuronetics failed to impress them. The two most revealing quotes from a WebMD article:

Perhaps a reasonable person could question whether there has been an effect at all," says Thomas G. Brott, a neurologist from Mayo Medical School in Jacksonville, Fla., and the advisory panel's chairman.

AND

Diana Zuckerman, Ph.D., president of the National Research Center for Women and Families, told the panel the company's studies did not show the device could help patients. "It's not a statistically significant difference, and it's not a meaningful difference," says Zuckerman, a clinical psychologist and epidemiologist. "Yes, it is safer than ECT, but it doesn't appear to actually work."

Device For Depression Criticized

Comments

Let's hope that one day the treatment for depression will be less about electricity, magnetic fields, pills, and implants and more about helping people deal with life.

Dear Joe,

From my own personal experiences as a support person and mental health advocate it first took getting one’s serious depression under control and into remission to not only deal with one’s life but also to come to enjoy one's life.

Warmly,
Herb
VNSdepression.com


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About

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Liz Spikol is senior contributing editor of Philadelphia Weekly. She writes the award-winning column The Trouble With Spikol, which began as a chronicle of her struggle with mental illness, and has since expanded into humorous musings on everything from graphic novels to how to use a mop. She also writes the paper's book review column, Lit Gloss. This blog -- named one of the Top 10 Bipolar Blogs of 2007 by PsychCentral -- is about mental illness policy, news, personal journeys and more.