For many people who suffer from depression, it's a challenge finding a medication that provides on-going relief. In this episode we zero in on the FDA-approved medical procedure Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation in which a magnetic field is used to cause electric current at a specific area of the brain. TMS is prescribed for patients who have not responded to traditional depression pharmaceuticals. It is also used to treat Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and smoking cessation. Dr. Sarah Lisanby, a psychiatrist and medical researcher at the National Institute of Mental Health, was instrumental in getting FDA approval in 2008. She addresses when TMS is most effective, why most of us have never heard of it, side effects, how it differs from ECT, why depression is so prevalent in our society and what the next big thing is for treating it.   

For more info on TMS:

https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/brain-stimulation-therapies/brain-stimulation-therapies.shtml

https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/brain-stimulation-therapies/brain-stimulation-therapies.shtml#part_152879

https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03289923?term=lisanby&recrs=abc&draw=2&rank=4

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28541649/