Traditional TMS is highly effective and is approved by the Canadian FDA to treat Major Depressive Disorder, OCD, and nicotine addiction. In Traditional TMS, we target the brain area treated based on your carefully reviewed diagnosis. The treatment is individualized at these standard locations based on your response and we use a variety of types of TMS (rTMS, TBS, accelerated, extended, deep and more) in a way customized to your diagnosis and response.
By 1985, the beginning of TMS as we know it was starting to form. Dr. Anthony Barker created the first transcranial magnetic stimulation device. His device and studies proved the influence of magnetic stimulation on the motor cortex to alter the brain’s electrical signals with the use of magnetic fields. By using TMS, Barker and his colleagues were able to produce twitching in specific areas of the human hand. This was done by applying TMS to the brain’s motor cortex in the opposite hemisphere which controls the movements of that particular muscle. To show how painless TMS was even at that time, these studies were conducted on volunteers while they were wide awake.
By the 1990s, studies indicated that TMS was not only safe, but also an effective treatment for depression. In 2003, Canada approved the use of TMS therapy for depression and finally, in 2008, the FDA gave its approval for TMS as well. In 2010, the American Psychiatric Association (APA) included TMS as a mainstream treatment for depression in the 3rd edition of Practice Guideline for the Treatment of Patients with Major Depression.
By 2013 a number of Canadian health insurance companies began to cover TMS therapy; currently, almost all of them provide coverage. TMS is now widely used as a safe treatment for depression, especially when drugs are ineffective or produce harmful side effects.
Effective symptoms rTMS helps with
- Major depressive disorder (MDD) (including treatment-resistant depression).
- Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).
- Migraines.
- Smoking cessation.
In addition to the approved conditions, research is ongoing to see if it can treat other conditions. These include, but aren’t limited to:
- Addictions.
- Alzheimer’s disease.
- Bipolar disorder.
- Borderline personality disorder (BPD).
- Chronic pain.
- Eating disorders.
- Essential tremor.
- Fibromyalgia.
- Parkinson’s disease.
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
- Schizophrenia.
- Stroke complications.
- Tinnitus and auditory hallucinations.
- Traumatic brain injury.