Major Depressive Disorder
Major Depressive Disorder is a neuropsychiatric disorder that is expressed in emotional, physiological and behavioral effects. Depression is common, chronic and severely damages quality of life, often leading to risk due to suicidal tendencies. Over 12% of the American population suffers from depression over the course of their lifetime.
The brain reward system is the neuronal circuitry related to emotional phenomena such as hedonism and depression, and includes brain centers and pathways that are activated by natural and artificial rewards. The most important brain reward centers, such as the nucleus accumbens, the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and the ventral prefrontal cortex, are located at depths of 3-7 cm within the brain.
Traditional alternatives for major depressive disorder treatment include drug therapy and electro-convulsive therapy (ECT). In addition to these two methods, depression patients are treated with psychotherapy. However, this depression treatment usually accompanies one of the two above-mentioned treatments, and shouldn't be used as an exclusive treatment, except in relatively mild cases, as reports indicate its effectiveness is rather limited.
Brainsway Deep TMS
Brainsway* Deep TMS, or Deep Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation, offers an effective, safe*, non-invasive treatment for major depressive disorder. Brainsway Deep TMS performs magnetic stimulation of the brain region responsible for depression and brings significant improvement to patients. It is an outpatient depression treatment which does not require hospitalization or anesthesia, and entails no memory loss or systemic side effects*.
Brainsway has conducted the following clinical trial* using Deep TMS (deep transcranial magnetic stimulation) for depression treatment*: Major Depression - Multicenter Double Blind Randomized Controlled Trial for Tolerability, Safety and Efficacy of the H-Coil Deep TMS. Click here for more information
Following this trial, the FDA granted wide indication for Brainsway’s Deep TMS to be used in cases of treatment resistant depression in patients who did not benefit from any number of previous medication treatments.
Brainsway Deep TMS depression treatment is approved by the FDA and by ANVISA for treating major depressive disorder*.
Real Life Clinical Practice of Deep TMS in Depression
In real-life clinical practice settings, 20 sessions of Deep TMS produce remission rates were even higher than those observed in randomized controlled clinical trials1. Among patients who went on to complete a treatment course of 30 sessions, 1 in 2 achieved full remission, suggesting a definite benefit for patients completing the full 30-sessions treatment regimen2.
There are a number antidepressant medications designed for major depressive disorder treatment. The main classes of antidepressantsare selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs), which includeProzac-like drugs; as well as other newer antidepressants. These drugs affect additional neurotransmitters that may involve depression, such as dopamine.
Psychotherapy is normally used to augment drug therapy or ECT as a depression treatment. Psychotherapy alone is not recommended for patients with moderate or serious depressive episodes, but only for mild cases of depression. Psychotherapy is by its very nature a lengthy process; its success is by no means certain or scientifically proven, and depends largely on the skill of the therapist. However, research has shown that psychotherapy and support groups can have a certain influence on patients' ability to continue drug therapy.
Electro-Convulsive Therapy (ECT)
Electro-convulsive therapy is usually administered in cases of severe depression, in which drug therapy is ineffective or not an option, and in which depression directly threatens a patient’s life. ECT has advanced in recent years and it is now administered under full general anesthesia with muscle relaxation. This depression treatment is administered by attaching electrodes to precise locations on the scalp and passing electrical current through them for a brief period of 30 seconds. ECT typically consists of a series of 6-12 treatment sessions, two to three times a week.
Standard Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS)
Standard TMS involve repetitives interference with the brain electrical activity, which induces high levels of neural activity while it is being delivered, and long-lasting effects thereafter. Brief repetitive stimulation triggers a process of learning and a state of plasticity in the brain, which allow long-lasting effects to be exerted on neural activity in target brain areas.
1 Data on file.
2 In the pivotal study which originally led to Brainsway's FDA clearance for MDD, response rates after 20 sessions were 38.4% (v. 21.4% with sham) and remission rates were 32.6% (v. 14.6% with sham).
IMPORTANT: Brainsway is at different stages of regulatory approval for different indications in different countries. While the status of our regulatory approvals is generally updated on this website, in order to verify whether Brainsway is currently approved for the treatment of this indication in your area, please contact us at firstname.lastname@example.org