PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

NeuroStar TMS Therapy shows promise as maintenance therapy for major depression

Pilot study reveals a majority of medication-free patients treated with NeuroStar TMS experienced remission after 6 weeks with durable effects through 3 months

2014-05-05
(Press-News.org) NEW YORK, May 5, 2014 – Neuronetics, Inc. announced today results from a new, dual-arm randomized pilot study that showed a trend toward symptomatic improvements with once-monthly TMS maintenance therapy in medication-free patients treated with NeuroStar TMS Therapy® for Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). Six weeks of acute NeuroStar TMS Therapy induced remission in 61.2 percent of all enrolled patients. At three months, 62.5 percent of medication-free patients randomized to once-monthly treatment with NeuroStar TMS Therapy maintained response as compared to 43.8 percent of patients who did not receive maintenance treatment. The complete findings will be presented at the 167th American Psychiatric Association Annual Meeting in New York City.

"This pilot study supports the notion that maintenance TMS may be useful in the prevention of recurrence of major depression and is an important step in learning what the optimum treatment parameters will be," said Scott Aaronson, M.D., Director of Clinical Research Programs, and Associate Medical Director at Sheppard Pratt. "This preliminary information will help define an approach to TMS as a maintenance therapy as we extend our understanding of the long-term usefulness of TMS in the treatment of people with this debilitating illness."

In the study, medication-free patients with a diagnosis of unipolar, non-psychotic MDD, who had failed to receive benefit from prior antidepressant medication were treated with 6 weeks of NeuroStar TMS Therapy; patients who met response criteria were randomized to either once monthly maintenance TMS treatments or monthly observation. Patients in either cohort could receive TMS reintroduction for protocol-defined symptomatic worsening. The primary outcome was the proportion of patients without symptomatic worsening throughout the three months of the maintenance treatment phase.

"As evidenced by this first pharmacotherapy-free maintenance trial, Neuronetics is committed to investing in continued research efforts that provide validation of NeuroStar TMS Therapy, and which may help better our understanding of depression and improve patients' therapeutic outcomes," said David Brock, M.D, Medical Director at Neuronetics.

INFORMATION:


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

A symbiotic way of life

A symbiotic way of life
2014-05-05
CORAL GABLES, Fla. (April 29, 2014) — Symbiosis is the process that occurs when two different organisms live together to form a mutually beneficial partnership. In many symbiotic relationships, host animals and their microbial symbionts are partners that make up a whole – neither one can function without the other but together they grow and reproduce. A study by University of Miami (UM) researchers reveals how, at the cellular level, an animal and its symbiotic bacteria work together to make up a single organismal system. The study titled "Aphid amino acid ...

Test that measures 'everyday task' performance is a good predictor of hospital readmission

2014-05-05
Patients freshly discharged from acute care hospitals with low scores on a standard test that measures how well they perform such everyday activities as moving from a bed to a chair are far more likely to need readmission to a hospital within 30 days than those who score better, according to new Johns Hopkins research. "The Functional Independence Measure score is a direct reflection of a patient's ability to heal," says Erik Hoyer, M.D., an assistant professor in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine ...

'Severe escalation' of anti-Jewish atmosphere in 2013

2014-05-05
Tel Aviv — Despite a 20% decline in the number of violent incidents against Jews, last year saw a sharp rise in abusive language and behavior, threats, and harassment of Jewish people on an individual basis around the world, according to the annual report presented on April 27, 2014, by Tel Aviv University's Kantor Center for the Study of Contemporary European Jewry and the Moshe Kantor Database for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism and Racism, in cooperation with the European Jewish Congress. At a press conference accompanying the release of the report, Prof. Dina ...

Groovy turtles' genes to aid in their rescue

2014-05-05
DAVIE, Fla.-- The diverse patterns on the diamondback terrapins' intricately grooved shell may be their claim to fame, but a newly published U.S. Geological Survey study of the genetic variation underneath their shell holds one key to rescuing these coastal turtles. Listed as an endangered species in Rhode Island and deemed threatened in Massachusetts, the terrapin is the only turtle in North America that spends its entire life in coastal marshes and mangroves. Seven different subspecies of terrapins are currently recognized by scientists based on external traits, such ...

Focused ultrasound reduces cancer pain

2014-05-05
(PHILADELPHIA)—When cancer progresses and spreads to the bone, patients often suffer debilitating pain. Now, a new phase III clinical trial shows that non-invasive magnetic resonance guided focused ultrasound treatment that heats the cancer within the bone, relieves pain and improves function for most patients when other treatment options are limited. The results were published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute (JNCI). Magnetic resonance guided focused ultrasound surgery (MRgFUS) is a technique that's been safely used to treat thousands of women with uterine ...

Science finds wines' fruity flavors fade first

2014-05-05
PULLMAN, Wash. – Testing conventional wisdom with science, recently published research from Washington State University reveals how different flavors "finish," or linger, on the palate following a sip of wine. "A longer finish is associated with a higher quality wine, but what the finish is, of course, makes a huge difference," said sensory scientist Carolyn Ross. The study is one of the first to look at how different flavor components finish when standing alone or interacting with other compounds in white wines. The idea for the work began with a question from one of ...

Mayo Clinic study finds nerve damage after hip surgery may be due to inflammation

2014-05-05
ROCHESTER, Minn. — A recent Mayo Clinic Proceedings article links some nerve damage after hip surgery to inflammatory neuropathy. Historically, nerve damage from hip surgery has been attributed to mechanical factors caused by anesthesiologists or surgeons, such as positioning of the patient during surgery or direct surgical injury of the nerves. In this study, researchers examined patients who developed inflammatory neuropathies, where the immune system attacks the nerves, leading to weakness and pain. Inflammatory neuropathies may be treated with immunotherapy. "Neuropathy ...

Strong institutions reduce in-group favoritism

2014-05-05
Ineffective social and political institutions make people more likely to favour their family and own local social group, while good institutions make them more likely to follow impersonal rules that are fair to everyone, suggests a forthcoming study in the journal Human Nature. A series of experiments found that people in societies with supportive government services, food security and institutions that meet their basic needs were very likely to follow impartial rules about how to give out money. By contrast, those without effective, reliable institutions showed favouritism ...

Study finds increased employee flexibility, supervisor support offer wide-ranging benefits

2014-05-05
WASHINGTON, DC, May 5, 2014 — Work-family conflict is increasingly common among U.S. workers, with about 70 percent reporting struggles balancing work and non-work obligations. A new study by University of Minnesota sociologists Erin L. Kelly, Phyllis Moen, Wen Fan, and interdisciplinary collaborators from across the country, shows that workplaces can change to increase flexibility, provide more support from supervisors, and reduce work-family conflict. The study, titled, "Changing Work and Work-Family Conflict: Evidence from the Work, Family, and Health Network," was ...

Is self-fumigation for the birds?

Is self-fumigation for the birds?
2014-05-05
SALT LAKE CITY, May 5, 2014 – When University of Utah biologists set out cotton balls treated with a mild pesticide, wild finches in the Galapagos Islands used the cotton to help build their nests, killing parasitic fly maggots to protect baby birds. The researchers say the self-fumigation method may help endangered birds and even some mammals. "We are trying to help birds help themselves," says biology professor Dale Clayton, senior author of a study outlining the new technique. The findings were published online May 5, 2014, in the journal Current Biology. "Self-fumigation ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Hope for global banana farming in genetic discovery

Mirror image pheromones help beetles swipe right

Prenatal lead exposure related to worse cognitive function in adults

Research alert: Understanding substance use across the full spectrum of sexual identity

Pekingese, Shih Tzu and Staffordshire Bull Terrier among twelve dog breeds at risk of serious breathing condition

Selected dog breeds with most breathing trouble identified in new study

Interplay of class and gender may influence social judgments differently between cultures

Pollen counts can be predicted by machine learning models using meteorological data with more than 80% accuracy even a week ahead, for both grass and birch tree pollen, which could be key in effective

Rewriting our understanding of early hominin dispersal to Eurasia

Rising simultaneous wildfire risk compromises international firefighting efforts

Honey bee "dance floors" can be accurately located with a new method, mapping where in the hive forager bees perform waggle dances to signal the location of pollen and nectar for their nestmates

Exercise and nutritional drinks can reduce the need for care in dementia

Michelson Medical Research Foundation awards $750,000 to rising immunology leaders

SfN announces Early Career Policy Ambassadors Class of 2026

Spiritual practices strongly associated with reduced risk for hazardous alcohol and drug use

Novel vaccine protects against C. diff disease and recurrence

An “electrical” circadian clock balances growth between shoots and roots

Largest study of rare skin cancer in Mexican patients shows its more complex than previously thought

Colonists dredged away Sydney’s natural oyster reefs. Now science knows how best to restore them.

Joint and independent associations of gestational diabetes and depression with childhood obesity

Spirituality and harmful or hazardous alcohol and other drug use

New plastic material could solve energy storage challenge, researchers report

Mapping protein production in brain cells yields new insights for brain disease

Exposing a hidden anchor for HIV replication

Can Europe be climate-neutral by 2050? New monitor tracks the pace of the energy transition

Major heart attack study reveals ‘survival paradox’: Frail men at higher risk of death than women despite better treatment

Medicare patients get different stroke care depending on plan, analysis reveals

Polyploidy-induced senescence may drive aging, tissue repair, and cancer risk

Study shows that treating patients with lifestyle medicine may help reduce clinician burnout

Experimental and numerical framework for acoustic streaming prediction in mid-air phased arrays

[Press-News.org] NeuroStar TMS Therapy shows promise as maintenance therapy for major depression
Pilot study reveals a majority of medication-free patients treated with NeuroStar TMS experienced remission after 6 weeks with durable effects through 3 months