Introducing the FIRST TMS System FDA-Cleared for Anxious Depression
Deep Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (Deep TMS™) is the FIRST TMS system FDA-cleared to safely and effectively reduce comorbid anxiety symptoms in adult patients with depression, also known as anxious depression.
Deep TMS treatment utilizes magnetic pulses generated by BrainsWay’s patented H1 Coil to stimulate neurons in areas of the brain associated with anxious depression, including the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) – particularly the left side.
Multiple peer-reviewed clinical studies have found Deep TMS to be a highly effective treatment in treating anxiety comorbid with depression. In a multicenter, double-blind controlled study, Deep TMS showed significant reductions in anxiety symptoms through the acute course of TMS treatments and retained improvement through 16 weeks.
As a noninvasive procedure, Deep TMS is a well-tolerated treatment that does not cause any adverse or long-lasting side effects. It does not require a significant recovery period, and the 20-min treatment can easily be integrated into each patient’s day-to-day schedule.anxiety.
Anxious Depression: Key Points
Anxious Depression refers to anxiety symptoms in patients suffering from Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). It affects approximately 10-16 million adults in the United States each year. This is distinct from patients that experience depression that is triggered by a primary diagnosis of an anxiety disorder, such as generalized anxiety disorder or panic disorder.
Both anxiety and depression have been associated with experiencing distress when facing the unknown. For depression, the trigger is related to a sense of sadness, and anxiety grows from thoughts of a future “threat” whose likelihood remains unclear. While depression is defined by a lack of energy, anxiety is perceived as more of a system overload and is tied to excessive concern over the possibility of experiencing harm.
Common anxiety symptoms include nervousness, feelings of panic, increased heart rate, rapid breathing, sweating, insomnia, trembling, and difficulty focusing or thinking clearly.
Anxious Depression Demographics: Between 60-90% of patients with depression have moderate to severe anxiety. Anxious depression is linked to greater severity of depression symptoms, higher risk of suicide, reduced response rates to treatment, and higher risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
Possible Causes for Anxious Depression: Several neurobiological differences have been observed in patients with anxious depression compared to those with non-anxious depression. This includes white blood cell counts, dysregulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, and cortical thinning in the anterior cingulate cortex and insula. Further study is necessary to verify and explore these associations.
Try TMS – A Proven Alternative Treatment for Depression
The 9-question Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) is a diagnostic tool introduced in 2001 to screen adult patients in a primary care setting for the presence and severity of depression. It rates depression based on the self-administered Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ). The PHQ is part of Pfizer’s larger suite of trademarked products, called the Primary Care Evaluation of Mental Disorders (PRIME-MD). The PHQ-9 takes less than 3 minutes to complete and simply scores each of the 9 DSM-IV criteria for depression based on the mood module from the original PRIME-MD. Primary care providers frequently use the PHQ-9 to screen for depression in patients.
