Magnetic stimulation, by contrast, focuses tightly on the prefrontal cortex, avoiding the motor-control area and making seizures far less likely, Avery said. The patient, awake and sitting in a chair, feels nothing or possibly a slight tingling on the surface of the skin where the magnetic device touches. There's no short-term memory loss or other known side effects, he said. Medications had not helped, and he did not want electroconvulsive therapy. The fast response could make the treatment useful for getting some patients quickly functioning again after being hospitalized for depression, Avery said.
Medications typically work more slowly.
However, unlike the Everett man, some patients say they begin to feel better only gradually as the treatments continue. Others show no improvement. Researchers around the country have conducted about 20 studies using the new therapy, including two small pilot studies at Harborview, in 1997 and 1998-99. Overall, about 50 percent of patients, including Harborview's, have shown improvement, Avery said. It's significant because these patients weren't helped by anti-depressants, or couldn't tolerate them, he said.