Magnet device aims to treat depression patients

October 20th, 2008 By LAURAN NEERGAARD , AP Medical Writer

(AP) -- The government has approved the first noninvasive brain stimulator to treat depression - a device that beams magnetic pulses through the skull. If it sounds like science-fiction, well, those woodpecker-like pulses trigger small electrical charges that spark brain cells to fire. Yet it doesn't cause the risks of surgically implanted electrodes or the treatment of last resort, shock therapy.

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• bredmond - Oct 20, 2008
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  I wonder if they can make direct to brain haptic interfaces for computers. then i don't need a monitor. just put on a hat. it could give me smells and sounds and feelings too. would that work?
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• deatopmg - Oct 21, 2008
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  Called transcranial magnetic stimulation or TMS, this gentler approach isn't for everyone. The Food and Drug Administration approved Neuronetics Inc.'s NeuroStar therapy specifically for patients who had no relief from their first antidepressant, offering them a different option than trying pill after pill."
  
  Gotta try a pill first because the FDA wouldn't anger Big Pharma, where up to 75% of the FDA employees eventually become employed.
  
  
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