Magnetic seizure therapy (MST) may eventually replace electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) as a treatment for major depressive disorders after it was shown to cause fewer side-effects.
Dr George Kirov, clinical senior lecturer of psychological medicine at Cardiff University, explained the benefits of this type of therapy in the recent BBC Radio 4 programme 'All in the Mind'.
Magnetic seizure therapy (MST) uses strong, high frequency electromagnetic fields instead of electricity to elicit therapeutic seizures in patients.
Initial trials with MST have demonstrated reduced side effects and reduced time to reorientation compared with ECT.
Dr Kirov has been conducting a pilot study using MST as a treatment for unresponsive major depression at the Whitchurch Hospital, Cardiff.
Although ECT is currently viewed as the most effective and rapidly acting treatment for major depressive disorders, the cognitive adverse effects of using electric impulses, such as headaches, nausea, fatigue and memory loss, restricts its use.
During MST, the patient is sedated while an electromagnetic coil connected to a magnetic stimulator is positioned over the patient's head.
Dr Kirov uses a custom-built machine called a Magstim Theta, designed specifically for the trials by Magstim.
An electromagnetic coil is placed over the head to stimulate an area of the brain.
The coil generates an electromagnetic field that passes through the scalp and skull, allowing the stimulus to be more focal, limiting exposure of other brain regions and reducing the possibility of amnesia or other side effects.
Dr Kirov's study group of nine patients received single sessions of traditional ECT and MST.
The initial research found that every patient that received MST recovered faster than after receiving ECT, with the average recovery times being seven minutes for MST and 22 minutes for ECT.
Patients also reported a reduction in headaches, sickness and fatigue and found MST easier to cope with than ECT.
Since the initial study-group results were published, more patients have received MST at four trial centres in Wales, Edinburgh, New York and Dallas, although these results are not yet available.
Dr Kirov plans to extend the study to a larger group of patients over a longer period of time.
It is hoped that a full trial will be able to measure the effectiveness of MST as a treatment for major depressive disorders.
Dr Kirov added: 'If these trials are successful, MST could well replace ECT in the future.
'However, to do so a stronger machine will be needed to elicit therapeutic seizures in every patient.' Further improvement of the technology is required to facilitate a move from ECT to MST.
Magstim is working with Dr Kirov to develop and improve magnetic stimulation technology for clinical research.
Magstim products are used around the world by researchers in neurology, neurophysiology, psychiatry and cognitive neuroscience.
