Transcranial magnetic stimulation and its applications

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a therapeutic method that uses magnetic fields to stimulate nerve cells to improve the symptoms of some brain diseases. This procedure is "non-invasive" because it is performed without the use of surgery or cutting the skin. The first mental illness to receive TMS treatment approval from the US Food and Drug Administration was depression. TMS in the treatment of depression is usually only used when other depression treatments have not been effective. The FDA has also approved TMS for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), when it does not respond well to standard treatments. When TMS is used for depression, OCD, and other conditions, the treatment is by sending repeated magnetic pulses, so it's called repetitive magnetic brain stimulation (rTMS). Research into other potential applications of rTMS, including epilepsy and other neurological diseases, is ongoing. It seems that transcranial magnetic stimulation has finally found a clear place in the treatment of neuropsychiatric disorders. Although the effectiveness of this treatment has been proven in some psychiatric diseases, there is still a need for more interventional studies in the case of neurological diseases.