Medical researchers at QIMR Berghofer have achieved a significant milestone in the treatment of depression, demonstrating the effectiveness of personalised transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) therapy.
This innovative approach uses advanced brain imaging to tailor treatment to an individual’s unique brain anatomy and connectivity, offering a new treatment option for people who have had little success with other therapies.
TMS is a non-invasive brain stimulation technique that targets specific areas of the brain to regulate neural activity associated with brain disorders. Unlike traditional TMS methods that stimulate a broad area, this personalised approach identifies the optimal stimulation site on the brain for each patient based on their own MRI scans.
Over the past three years, the team at QIMR Berghofer’s Clinical Brain Networks laboratory has treated individuals with depression by scanning their brains via MRI, then offering 20-30 stimulation treatments over several weeks.
The results, according to the researchers, have been remarkable. “Just over half of the patients reduced their symptoms by more than 50 per cent, and around one-third achieved full remission,” said QIMR Berghofer neuroscientist Dr Luke Hearne. “This is particularly exciting for people who have not responded to standard treatments like medication or talk therapy.”
Dr Hearne emphasised the importance of personalisation in improving outcomes: “The brain is incredibly complex, and even millimetre-level adjustments in stimulation sites on the surface of the brain can make a significant difference to clinical outcomes. By tailoring TMS to each person’s unique brain structure, we’re seeing much better responses compared to traditional approaches.”
The study also revealed that patients with depression responded better than those with complex conditions such as bipolar depression or neurological disorders.
Associate Professor Luca Cocchi oversaw the research and has highlighted its real-world impact: “This work is a testament to how cutting-edge neuroscience can directly improve lives. Translating research into clinical practice is always challenging, but seeing patients experience relief after years of struggling with depression is deeply gratifying for our team.”
Dr Hearne and his collaborators are keen to secure funding to begin randomised clinical trials for the treatment, with a view to making targeted TMS therapy available to people in rural and underserved communities.
The research findings are published in the journal Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics DOI https://doi.org/10.1159/000545692.