It’s one thing to get depressed at times. Mounting bills, family strife and the hard knocks of daily living can all throw us back on our heels. Situational stress certainly has its sting, but the truth is that major depression is a serious medical illness. It afflicts 14 million American adults every year, and can adversely affect an individual’s thoughts, behavior, mood and physical health. For some, it can be downright fatal. In the U.S. alone, more than 30,000 people die by suicide per year, 60 percent of whom suffer from depression. Its exact cause is unknown, but evidence points to a chemical imbalance in the brain. For treatment, antidepressants work for many people, but not all. Thankfully, there are some new alternatives like trans-cranial magnetic stimulation or TMS -- a technology that is just now establishing itself in the region. “It’s a promising next step, something we’re pretty excited about for the people we serve for depression,” notes Eric Pettingill, co-owner and administrator for The Wellness Center in Idaho Falls. The more conventional approach has been to employ shock treatments, he adds. “It has some results, but it’s invasive and can lead to chronic headaches. Medications have their own drawbacks/side effects, while therapy combined with medication works well, but it’s extremely intensive.” The TMS Center of Idaho, located at the Mental Wellness Centers office in Idaho Falls, is working with an advanced TMS treatment manufactured by Neurostar. It’s the only one of its kind in Idaho, and one of only a handful in the region. After being prescribed by a psychiatrist, TMS treatment begins with a two-hour “mapping” process that targets the frontal cortex (where mood is regulated). “The magnet pulses stimulate the neurons in that section of the brain, which increases the neural activity and reduces depression,” says Pettingill. “Patient data is entered as the treatment schedule moves along, so the machine remembers where the location is, and it tracks the pulses and the amount of intensity of the treatment.” According to Neurostar’s product literature:
• The technology is similar to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), which has a track record of safety.
• After six weeks of trial treatments, one in two patients improved significantly and one in three patients were completely free of depression symptoms.
• Patients treated with active NeuroStar TMS Therapy received an average reduction in their depression symptom score of 22.1 percent compared to a 9 percent average reduction in patients receiving inactive treatment.
• The most common side effect: pain or discomfort at or near the treatment area. Patients are awake and alert during treatment and can go back to their normal activities immediately after treatment. Whereas electroconvulsive shock therapy has a more immediate effect, TMS has a longer lasting one, Pettingill says. Patients will typically be about three weeks into treatment before noticing the effects. “Depression still has such a stigma attached to it,” Pettingill adds. “‘Just pick yourself up’ is the mentality a lot of people have, and it doesn’t really work. We have provided consults to individuals who have spent thousand of dollars attempting to alleviate depression symptoms, yet are hesitant to spend money on treatment that has the potential to alleviate their symptoms or quite possibly eliminate those symptoms altogether.” TMS therapy at The Wellness Center lasts six weeks with five 45-minute sessions per week. Total cost is roughly $10,000 to $12,000 for the course of treatment. Financing is available and the initial consultation is paid by all types of insurance companies, Pettingill says. For more information on the technology, visit Neurostar’s website at www.neurostar. com. For more hands-on feedback from local professionals who already employ the device, contact The Wellness Center at 542-1026 or visit mwcid.com.