United States: Multifaceted application of intensive magnetic stimulation may be effective in managing bipolar disorder, as suggested by a trial study.
It involves the use of magnetic waves that are administered to certain areas of the brain through the placement of a coil against the scalp in a therapy known as accelerated intermittent theta burst stimulation, as reported by HealthDay.
Endorsement by FDA
The type of this procedure has been endorsed earlier by the US FDA as the treatment of major depressive disorder, the researchers pointed out.
Currently, this new research with 24 bipolar disorder patients with treatment-resistant depression has used the therapy also to manage bipolar symptoms.
Positive Results
The magnetic therapy “offers a new potential therapy for depressed patients with bipolar disorder who may not respond well to drugs or cannot tolerate their side effects while also significantly shortening the treatment window,” stated Professor of Psychiatry Yvette Sheline of the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine.
Bipolar disorder is characterized by roller coaster moods – from majorly severe and depressed moods to manic episodes, which display features of erratic thinking, agitation, or even feelings of excessive happiness, the researchers noted in background information.
The existing approaches to bipolar consist of mood-altering medications like lithium and talk therapy techniques such as cognitive behavioral therapy.
Transcranial magnetic stimulation employs a magnetic field to generate current to any desired area of the brain, it was stated. The stimulation is believed to change the brain wave pattern and hence reduce the symptoms of depression in the patient.
Future Directions
In this research, patients were randomly assigned into two groups. One group was treated with real magnetic therapy while the other group was given a sham treatment, and neither the patient nor the research team was aware of which patient received the active treatment.
The therapy was given for five days, with ten sessions being conducted per day, once an hour.
Magnetic stimulation was shown to have reduced the average depression score from 30 to 11 on the overall given scale of 60, the results depicted.
In the group that was given placebos, there was a small amount of change: they scored 28 before therapy and 25 after.
“This means that those who received active treatment had a substantial decrease in their depression symptoms compared to those who received sham stimulation,” the researchers said in a university news release, as reported by HealthDay.
They have to be repeated in larger sample studies with more patients, Sheline continued.