New therapy for depressed patients

PEOPLE suffering with anxiety and depression who do not respond to talking therapies or antidepressants can be prescribed a newlyapproved magnetic technique from the NHS.

Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust’s Acute Recovery Team has started a treatment that stimulates certain regions of the brain by using a high-intensity magnetic field at Glenfield Hospital.

The treatment, repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (RTMS), is carried out while the patient is fully awake.

They could be reading or listening to their favourite music.

The procedure is painless and uses magnetic fields to stimulate nerve cells in the region of the brain involved in mood control.

The technique has shown reduced side-effects compared with antidepressants. Fiona Myers, the trust’s interim divisional director, said: “The start of the RTMS service is a great example of how Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust is actively progressing the delivery of high-quality and innovative care for our patients.

“It’s a real testament to the commitment of our staff to enhance the choice of treatment options for our patients.

“In addition, the successful achievement of accreditation for the electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) service is fabulous.

“Staff deserve a big thank you for all their efforts.”

She said the team at the Neuromodulation Centre in the Bradgate Unit, on the Glenfield Hospital site, worked with an organisation in Northampton to develop the “excellent” treatment pathway.

The centre now offers the treatment alongside vagus nerve stimulation, which involves the use of a device to stimulate the vagus nerve with electrical impulses, and ECT, where a brief electrical stimulation of the brain occurs while the patient is under anesthesia.

The team is also working on an esketamine nasal spray, a treatment choice for people resistant to depression medication.