According to the results of a randomized sham-controlled trial, a novel neuroscience-informed, magnetic brain stimulation led to remission of treatment-resistant depression in nearly 80% of patients.

Stanford neuromodulation therapy (SNT) is a high-dose, resting-state, functional connectivity magnetic resonance-guided intermittent theta-burst stimulation (iTBS) protocol. Adults with long-term treatment-resistant depression, having moderate to severe depressive episodes at present, were randomly assigned to receive active or sham SNT. There was a 52.5% mean percentage reduction in Montgomery–Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) score at 4 weeks in the active SNT group, in comparison with 11.1% in the sham SNT group. Over the 4-week follow-up, 85.7% patients in the active SNT group met the criterion for response (reduction ≥ 50% in MADRS score), and 78.6% met the remission criterion (MADRS score ≤ 10) in at least one of five post-treatment evaluations. The findings are published online in the American Journal of Psychiatry… (Medscape)