Even though depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide, the vast majority of people suffering from this mental illness don’t have access to therapies that are effective, fast-acting and long-lasting. Luckily, new individually tailored treatments that stimulate the brain with painless magnetic pulses look promising for alleviating depression.
One of these approaches, called Stanford neuromodulation therapy (SNT, pronounced “saint”), appears particularly effective. A study published in February 2022 in the American Journal of Psychiatry states that 78 percent of 29 participants in an SNT trial at Stanford University went into remission after just five days of treatment. Half the participants still felt better four weeks post-treatment, and the only side effects were a slight headache or fatigue.
“It's very appealing in the sense that it's a relatively non-invasive treatment that could prove beneficial for some people who don't respond to medications or talk therapy,” says Jonathan Alpert, Chair of the American Psychiatric Association’s Council on Research.
