A new study identifies optimal rTMS treatment for older adults

The treatment would help older people with treatment-resistant depression.

The study, published by Frontier in Aging Neuroscience identified rTMS as the best treatment for depressed older generations.

Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) is a noninvasive procedure that uses magnetic fields to stimulate nerve cells in the brain to improve symptoms of depression. 

During a rTMS session, an electromagnetic coil is placed against the scalp near the forehead. The electromagnet painlessly delvers a magnetic pulse that stimulates nerve cells in the region of the brain involved in mood control and depression. 

Alvaro Pascual-Leone, lead author of the study, said: “The findings are significant from a healthcare policy perspective because many major insurance providers in the US have coverage policies that hinge on a clinical response within four weeks.

“They need to expand coverage to at least beyond six weeks of treatment to ensure maximal benefit for older adults who are in particular need of effective treatment option for major depression. 

“It brings new hope to patients and their families that TMS can relieve treatment- resistant depression.”

Depression in older adults

Depression is both the most common and most reversible  mental illness in old age, affecting one in five older people in the community according to NHS England. This figure doubles in the presence of physical illness and trebles in hospitals and care homes.

Older adults can present the same symptoms as younger adults such as psychological symptoms and biological symptoms. 

However, certain symptoms are more common in older adult. These symptoms include health anxieties, prominent anxiety, unusual behaviour and physical symptoms rather than emotional ones.

In older people, physical illness increases both frailty and the risk of depression.

Depression in older adults is also common in people with Alzheimer’s and related dementia. Dementia can cause some of the same symptoms as depression, and depression can be an early warning sign of possible dementia.