Introduction

It is normal for everyone to occasionally feel blue or sad, but these feelings are usually fleeting (short-lived) and pass within a couple of days. When a person has a depressive disorder, it interferes with their daily life activities, normal functioning, and can be a cause of extreme stress and pain. Depression is a common but serious illness, and most who experience it need treatment to get better.

What is depression?

Depression, also known as (major depressive disorder) is a common and serious mental disorder that negatively affects how you feel, think, act, and perceive the world [American Psychiatric Association, ]. Nearly three in ten adults (29%) have been diagnosed with depression at some point in their lives, and about 18% are currently experiencing depression, according to a 2023 national survey[Dan Witters, May 17, 2023]

Women and young adults are more likely to experience depression than men and older adults. While depression can occur at any time and at any age, on average, it can first appear during one’s late teens to mid-20s. 

The severity and symptoms of depression are different for everyone. The most common ones include feeling sad, anxious, or "empty", hopelessness, guilt, loss of interest in daily life, difficulty concentrating, insomnia, suicidal thoughts, and many more

Adolescent Major Depressive Disorder

Adolescent depression[Mayo Clinic, ]is a substantial global public health problem that contributes to academic failure, occupational impairment, deficits in social functioning, substance use disorders, teen pregnancy, and suicide. Initial management of moderate to severe depression in adolescents involves treatment with psychotherapy and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs).

Remission rates and outcomes are often poor as this treatment does not target relevant, underlying adolescent pathophysiology. Ongoing controversy regarding the effectiveness and safety of SSRIs in young individuals underscores the importance for an improved understanding of the biological mechanisms involved in adolescent depression.

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)

[Neuromodec organization, ]

TMS is increasingly considered the treatment for depression in adolescents[Leslie Miller and John V. Campo, affiliated with Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and the Kennedy Krieger Institute, July 29, 2021]who do not respond to standard biomedical treatments or talk therapies. Treatment with TMS involves the stimulation of cortical neurons with magnetic pulses and is now widely available as a clinical treatment for adults. Current FDA-cleared TMS treatments involve 5 daily treatments per week, for 4–6 weeks. 

Studies have shown that neurostimulation technologies such as TMS have great potential as enduring, brain-based interventions for depression in adolescents. Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation is a non-invasive technique leveraging magnetic fields to stimulate targeted regions of the brain, which has emerged as a promising intervention for treatment-resistant depression.

TMS is an Advanced treatment for depression

People who are struggling with major depressive disorder, especially young adults who haven’t found relief with medications, TMS, and NeuroStar TMS might be the solution for you. TMS is a type of treatment that does not affect the chemical makeup of your body; rather, it targets the root cause of your depression. The FDA also approved TMS for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), migraines when standard treatments haven't worked well. Research continues into other potential uses for TMS, including epilepsy.

When used for depression and OCD, this treatment involves delivering repeated magnetic pulses, so it's called repetitive TMS or rTMS.

[Mayo Clinic, April 7, 2023]

During an rTMS session for depression, an electromagnetic coil is placed against the scalp of your head. This coil delivers magnetic pulses that stimulate nerve cells in the region of your brain involved in mood control and depression. It's thought to activate regions of the brain that have decreased activity during depression.

Neuro Star TMS is also a type of TMS device that uses magnetic pulses that revitalise the inactive synapses of the brain. Over 7.4 million NeuroStar Advanced TMS treatments have been performed in over 200,000 patients. In real-world outcomes, 83% of patients experience an improvement in the severity of their depression, with 62% of patients showing complete remission.

One of the distinguishing features of TMS is its favorable side effect profile compared to traditional antidepressant medications. Unlike pharmacological treatments, which may carry a host of systemic side effects, TMS therapy is a localized Brain stimulation therapy that targets brain regions, minimizing the risk of adverse reactions elsewhere in the body.

Moreover, TMS represents a non-pharmacological treatment option, offering a welcome alternative for adolescents and their families concerned about the potential risks associated with psychiatric medications. By harnessing the power of magnetic fields to modulate neural activity, TMS provides a safe and well-tolerated avenue for managing depression in young minds.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it can be said that with the passage of time, safe and effective brain-based treatments are being developed to alleviate the pain and stress of humans, in order to decrease the morbidity and mortality rate. Larger studies will soon provide more systematic data to examine the clinical tolerability, safety, and clinical effects of TMS in adolescents with depression. If done through planned and professional psychiatric care by TMS specialists we will be embracing a new era of mental wellness.