Depression symptoms are most often treated with psychotherapy and antidepressant medications.
It is believed that antidepressant medications work by increasing the levels of neurotransmitters
in the brain. These changes have a positive effect on mood and on reducing feelings of depression
and anxiety. Unfortunately, treating major depression is sometimes more complicated and requires
more than antidepressant medication alone.
Although antidepressants can be effective for many patients, they do not work for everybody.
Some patients may not respond to antidepressant medications. Additionally, since antidepressant
medications are typically taken by mouth, they circulate in the bloodstream throughout the body,
and may result in unwanted side effects such as weight gain, sexual problems, upset stomach,
sleepiness, and dry mouth, among others. Over four million patients do not receive adequate benefit from
antidepressant medications. 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 those dealing with it.
For these patients, alternative treatments for depression are available. These depression therapies
have been shown to work in some people who do not receive benefit from antidepressant medications.
Such patients may also be unable to tolerate the side effects caused by these medications. These treatments may include:
transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)
, combination therapy (taking an antidepressant medication with an antipsychotic
medication), electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) and vagus nerve stimulation (VNS).
Transcranial magnetic stimulation
uses short pulses of magnetic fields to stimulate nerve cells in the area of
the brain thought to control mood. These pulsed magnetic fields may have a positive effect on the
brain’s neurotransmitters levels. Treating depression with transcranial magnetic stimulation, also
referred to as TMS Therapy
, may provide an alternative depression treatment for those who have not
benefitted from prior antidepressant medication.*
References:
- Data on file.
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