Complementary & Alternative Medicine for Mental Health

 But Gershon et al. added that TMS is comparable to ECT in efficacy only when there is
no indication of psychosis: “Four studies have compared high-frequency rTMS with ECT.
These studies are particularly important because if rTMS, with its more benign side
effect profile, is as effective as ECT even for only a subset of people, then it might
provide a safer and more tolerable alternative. For people experiencing psychosis, ECT
was clearly superior to rTMS, with 10 of 10 patients responding to ECT but only two of
nine responding to rTMS. But among people not experiencing psychosis, both
treatments met with similar success rates, with six (60%) of 10 patients responding to
ECT and seven (64%) of 11 responding to rTMS.”^7
 The Mayo Clinic says that electromagnets “may hold some potential for treating
conditions such as depression.”^8
 On the other hand, 2003 and 2009 Cochrane reviews, prepared and maintained by The
Cochrane Collaboration, found inadequate evidence to recommend the use of
transcranial magnetic stimulation for the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder
or depression.^9
 Sixteen trials were included in the reviews and fourteen contained data in a suitable
form for quantitative analysis. Most comparisons did not show differences between
rTMS and other interventions. No difference was seen between rTMS and sham TMS
using the Beck Depression Inventory or the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, except
for one time period (after two weeks of treatment) for left dorsolateral prefrontal
cortex and high frequency; and also for right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and low
frequency, both in favor of rTMS and both using the Hamilton scale. Comparison of
rTMS (left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and high frequency) with electroconvulsive
therapy showed no difference except for psychotic patients after two weeks treatment,
using the Hamilton scale, which indicated that electroconvulsive therapy was more
effective than rTMS.^10
 The information in the Cochrane reviews suggests that, “there is no strong evidence for
benefit from using transcranial magnetic stimulation to treat depression or obsessive-