TMS (transcranial magnetic stimulation) relieves both anxiety and depression in people with anxious depression, a new study found. Anxious depression is hard to treat with standard care. TMS helped the symptoms of both.
Summary: Depression is one of the top mental health problems. And no two people with depression are the same. Many people also live with anxious depression. These patients are hard to treat the usual way. A new study looked at transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). It shows TMS can do a lot to ease the symptoms of both anxiety and depression.
Depression is a widespread mental health disorder in the United States. It hits people of all ages. Per the National Institute of Mental Health, over 15 million adults in the US have at least one major depressive episode each year. Depression can badly hurt a person’s quality of life. It drags down work, relationships, and overall well-being. So we must understand what causes depression to find treatments that work.
Depression is common, yet it is still poorly understood. So even with dozens of drugs on the shelf, its treatment falls far short.
In fact, many people with depression do not respond well to drugs. Doctors often call this resistant depression. On top of that, antidepressants may cause many side effects. In some cases, they might even make depression worse. That is why doctors keep looking for new and safer ways to treat depression.
To make things harder, many people have major depressive disorder (MDD) mixed with anxiety. This is called anxious depression. These patients are very hard to treat. They often need drug treatment for a long time, and yet many do not respond well. Severe anxious depression like this can be badly disabling.
Even when a patient responds to drugs, it often takes a long time to reach remission. So most people with anxious depression must keep taking drugs, even once they get there.
In recent years, Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) has become a safe treatment that works for depression and anxiety. It is very safe and rarely causes side effects.
TMS sends magnetic pulses to specific parts of the brain to wake up nerve activity. The pulses carry very little energy, so they do no harm. TMS is not just good for mental health problems. It also helps the body repair and rebuild. Because it does so much good, it has become the subject of a lot of research.
Now a new study shows that TMS is not just good for resistant depression. It also works well for anxious depression.
The new study asked whether transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) could help patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) and moderate-to-severe anxiety. It looked at 1,820 patients with MDD. Each got at least one TMS treatment between May 2016 and January 2021. Each also filled out two forms before and after. One was the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). The other was the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 scale (GAD-7).2
The study found that patients with anxious depression got significantly better after TMS. Their anxiety and their depression both improved significantly. On average, both GAD-7 and PHQ-9 scores fell by 50% or more.
TMS was given as routine care in many kinds of clinics. The study concluded it could lead to marked anxiolytic and antidepressant effects in patients with anxious depression. Anxiolytic means it calms anxiety.
Researchers have long known that TMS helps depression. Now they know it also helps complex patients who show signs of both depression and anxiety.
Frequently asked questions
Does TMS actually work for depression?
Yes. A study looked at 1,820 patients with major depression and moderate-to-severe anxiety. After TMS, symptoms of both improved significantly. On average, scores on the standard depression (PHQ-9) and anxiety (GAD-7) tests dropped by 50% or more. TMS helps resistant depression. It also helps anxious depression, one of the hardest forms to treat.
How does TMS work for depression?
TMS sends magnetic pulses to specific parts of the brain to wake up nerve activity. The pulses carry very little energy, so they do not harm the brain. No pill is involved. That matters for people whose depression did not respond to antidepressants, or who could not handle their side effects.
Can TMS overstimulate the brain?
TMS uses magnetic pulses with very little energy, and those pulses do not harm the brain. It is a safe treatment that rarely causes side effects. Compare that with antidepressants. They can cause many side effects and, in some cases, even make depression worse.
Related reading
Boosting TMS Effectiveness for Depression · Genetic testing to enhance depression treatment · Telehealth for Mental Health: Why Experts Are Skeptical · Drug Addiction Treatment, St. Louis