ALTERNATIVE WELLNESS HELPS THE DEPRESSED

ALTERNATIVE AND WELLNESS THERAPY PUTS DEPRESSION PATIENTS INTO REMISSION



Mt Pleasant Charleston SC May 4,2010



keywords: non-responsive depression, PEMF, pulsed electromagnetic frequency, alternative therapy for depression, rTMS (repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation),CAM, ECT, MG-33



A recent study conducted at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) Dept of Neurosciences showed promising results for patients suffering from depression and had been unresponsive to conventional antidepressant regimens. The therapy used is called PEMF or pulsed electromagnetic frequency and is a new CAM (complementary and alternative medicine) treatment and well documented in medical literature for chronic pain.



The research was released on Monday and the population treated was 190 depressive patients who failed to respond to prescription antidepressants. The subjects were treated a minimum of three (3) weeks with PEMF and the researchers found that the treatments led to a 14% remission in these chronic cases that persisted for several months.



The treatment itself is called repetitive transcranial magnetic stmulation (rTMS) and represents hope of future alternative and natural results for depression patients. One caveat the reasearchers had was that the results,although positive,are not completely conclusive and that there is a need for future coroborative studies.



Dr. Mark George, M.D. of MUSC who led the research team was quoted,"This study should help settle the debate about whether rTMS (PEMF therapy) works for depression." He also stated, "We can now follow up clues suggesting ways to improve its effectiveness, and hopefully further develop a potential(sic) new class of stimulation treatments for other brain disorders."



This treatment attempted to excite the brain's mood regulating centers know as the limbic system including the limbic cortex,or frontal lobes, the hippocampus,the memory center, the hypothalamus,or master gland and amygdyla, the fear center. The PEMF pulses were focused on the top left frontal lobes for over 30 minute sessions at about two (2) pulses per second.

Researchers stated that the treatments can be safely administered in a doctor's office with few side effects disimilar from other more invasive brain stim techniques such as electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). Patients with implanted electrical devices or those pregnant are prohibited from using the PEMF.



Funded research demonstrated that although the treatment "has not yet lived up to early hope it might replace more invasive therapies, this study suggests that the treatments may be effective in at least some treatment-resistant patients," concluded Thomas Insel, US National Institute of Mental Health director.



Dr Joseph Markovich is the director of Mt Pleasant Family Health Group in Mt Pleasant Charleston SC and is currently using a PEMF ( MG-33) device in his practice and is available for consult at 843-884-6194. Visit http://painfreefast.com for more information about PEMF and its benefits.