LEFT and RIGHT-handed people with treatment-resistant depression improve equally with rTMS
Interestingly, handedness (i.e., whether an individual is right or left handed) might indicate which side of the brain/body is more dominant. Potentially, this could affect the intensity of stimulation that left or right-handed people need. Additionally, rTMS is delivered to the left side of an individual’s head. This region of the brain controls the right side of your body — raising the question as to whether rTMS is equally effective for left and right-handed people. This could have important impacts for depression treatment.
Who may be most likely to benefit from repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS)?
Even though repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is largely effective at treating depression even for those who do not respond to antidepressants, there is still a fraction of individuals who do not improve with rTMS. Predicting who may respond best to rTMS may help clinicians and patients make better choices as to what treatments to pursue, with the ultimate hope to better treat depression. Trevizol et al. (2020) used data from a clinical trial run by the NINET Lab at UBC called THREE-D to determine if there are characteristics that can help predict whether someone would benefit from rTMS.
HTAC Survey Results
HTAC Survey Results Show Support for Provincial rTMS Funding By. Kevin Jiang “I have struggled with cyclical depression for approximately 20 years. I have tried many medications and alternative treatments. rTMS has proven to be the most effective treatment I have found.” The NINET-IMH Clinic & Laboratory has submitted a nomination to […]