Depression May be Treated with Magnets

[seemslikeadream]

no I'm not reading Rense again :P


http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gdyh3_-_KIascWzQyExesgoY4rUgD93UG6UG0


Magnet device aims to treat depression patients
By LAURAN NEERGAARD – 18 hours ago

WASHINGTON (AP) — The government has approved the first noninvasive brain stimulator to treat depression — a device that beams magnetic pulses through the skull. If it sounds like science-fiction, well, those woodpecker-like pulses trigger small electrical charges that spark brain cells to fire. Yet it doesn't cause the risks of surgically implanted electrodes or the treatment of last resort, shock therapy.

Called transcranial magnetic stimulation or TMS, this gentler approach isn't for everyone. The Food and Drug Administration approved Neuronetics Inc.'s NeuroStar therapy specifically for patients who had no relief from their first antidepressant, offering them a different option than trying pill after pill.

"We're opening up a whole new area of medicine," says Dr. Mark George of the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, who helped pioneer use of TMS in depression. "There's a whole field now that's moving forward of noninvasive electrical stimulation of the brain."

While there's a big need for innovative approaches — at least one in five depression patients is treatment-resistant — the question is just how much benefit TMS offers.

The FDA cleared the prescription-only NeuroStar based on data that found patients did modestly better when treated with TMS than when they unknowingly received a sham treatment that mimicked the magnet. It was a study fraught with statistical questions that concerned the agency's own scientific advisers.

For a more clear answer, the National Institutes of Health has an independent study under way now that tracks 260 patients and may have initial results as early as next year.

Quantifying the benefit is key, considering the price tag. TMS is expected to cost $6,000 to $10,000, depending on how many treatments a patient needs, says Dr. Philip Janicak of Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, who helped lead the NeuroStar study. That's far more expensive than medication yet thousands of dollars cheaper than invasive depression devices.

[Schema Thing]

1. They could finance their therapy machines by selling "spiritual" experiences

Missing out on that Born-Again feeling the other folks at your church are gushing about? We guarantee you'll get the spirit if you come in for our Magnetic-Attraction-to-the-god-of-your-choice special!

[tuckessee]

2. The title should be more clear.

I can see Paulson & Bernanke now asking for a billion dollars to buy magnets.:)

[seemslikeadream]

3. very funny

:rofl:

[Bombero1956]

10. and just think

the users will always know which way north is.:eyes:

[TexasBushwhacker]

4. Seems pricey for a non-invasive device

As someone who's struggled with treatment resistant depression, I asked (yes ASKED) if I could get ECT during my last bad episode. Unfortunately, if your insurance doesn't cover it, and mine doesn't, you can't get it. That being said, the biggest cost of ECT is that it's done under general anesthesia.

[TexasBushwhacker]

5. Seems pricey for a non-invasive device

As someone who's struggled with treatment resistant depression, I asked (yes ASKED) if I could get ECT during my last bad episode. Unfortunately, if your insurance doesn't cover it, and mine doesn't, you can't get it. That being said, the biggest cost of ECT is that it's done under general anesthesia.

[Javaman]

6. Could we put a huge one on the United States? nt

[ProgressiveFool]

7. I was thinking of colorful or witty fridge magnets... those don't seem to help much

Not even the Bush poetry one...

[RuthCalabria]

8. THE STOCK MARKET UNCRASH…

And Other Ways the Republicans Will Try To Steal the Election.

The Great Depression II will be put on hold through a surprising, if temporary, stock market recovery, just in time for Election Day. Unbeknownst to most, the market can be jiggered through big player collusion. All that’s necessary is lots of money, readily available to the Republican run investment banks from the 700 billion dollar bailout and their no interest Federal Reserve loans. Also part of this effort are the deceptive encouragements and stimulus programs coming from the Republican White House stooges, Paulson and Bernanke. These stratagems to steal the election have been in the planning since the beginning of the Republican campaign along with various forms of bogus ballot disqualifications, well polished from their successful use by the conservatives in Florida and Ohio in the last two elections. To truly understand the depths of their skullduggery requires that you be a conservative, though if you are, you certainly don’t open your mouth to outsiders. I get around this problem by being the renegade daughter of a conservative minister and, back 35 years ago, the wife of a conservative missionary…

Ruth Calabria
http://www.matrix-evolutions.com

[TxBlue]

9. You can get devices like that alot cheaper

I have a mag pulser that I love. It has made back pain melt away on various family members and myself. It cost around $300 give or take.

Haven't tried it on my head though.

Science behind it that I've heard is that magnetism increases circulation of blood which aids healing. Help arthritis and such.
Blood contains iron.

Yes, I'm into alternative medicine that works and has some science to back it up. Interesting article.