• About NeuroStar TMS^®
  • What is NeuroStar TMS Therapy^®?
  • How Does it Work?
  • Depression Treatment Guidelines
• NeuroStar TMS Therapy
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  • Safety Profile
  • What to Expect with Therapy
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• About Depression
  • Depression Symptoms
  • Treating Depression
  • Depression FAQs
  • NeuroStar for Depression
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Treating Depression

There are non-drug and drug therapies available to treat depression.  Depression symptoms are most often initially treated with psychotherapy (talk-therapy) and antidepressant drugs. It is believed that antidepressant drugs work by increasing the levels of neurotransmitters in the brain. These changes have a positive effect on mood and can reduce the feelings of depression and anxiety. Unfortunately, treating major depression is sometimes more complicated and requires more than antidepressant drugs alone.

Although antidepressant drugs can be effective for many patients, they do not work for everybody. Some patients find that antidepressant medications do not decrease their depression symptoms. Additionally, since antidepressant medications are typically taken by mouth, they circulate in the bloodstream throughout the body, and may result in unwanted side effects.¹  More than 4 million patients do not receive adequate benefit from antidepressant medications.²

When a patient does not respond or cannot tolerate antidepressants, this is sometimes referred to as treatment-resistant depression. Treatment-resistant depression is a debilitating condition.

For these patients, alternative effective depression treatments are available. These depression treatments have been shown to work in some people who do not receive benefit from antidepressant medications. These treatments may include: transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) , combination therapy (taking an antidepressant medication with an antipsychotic medication), electroconvulsive therapy (ECT, also known as shock therapy), and vagus nerve stimulation (VNS).

Transcranial magnetic stimulation uses short pulses of magnetic fields to stimulate nerve cells in the area of the brain known to control mood. These pulsed magnetic fields are thought to positively affect the brain’s neurotransmitters levels. Treating depression with transcranial magnetic stimulation, using the FDA-cleared NeuroStar TMS Therapy System, provides a breakthrough in depression treatments to benefit  those who have not benefited from initial antidepressant medication.*

1. Neuronetics, Inc., Data on file.
2. Kessler, RC, et al. The epidemiology of major depressive disorder; results from the National Co-morbidity Survey Replication (NCS-R). JAMA. 2003; 289(23): 3095-3105.