Depression is one of the most common mental illnesses. For some people, the blues never go away. But now doctors may have a new tool in the form of a magnet. It has a startling effect on the brain, but can it treat depression?

You'd never know just a few hours ago, Joyce Daniels had her brain re-programmed with Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation, or TMS.

Doctors are tickling Joyce's brain with a powerful magnet to see if it stops the depression she's battled for 30 years. It all began when researchers noticed magnets could make people twitch.

Mark George, M.D., is a psychiatrist and neurologist at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, S.C. "So if I take this and put it over my motor strip in the area that controls my thumb, I'll likely produce my thumb to wiggle," he says.

But can it change moods? Research shows depressed people have sections of the brain that seem to be hibernating.

"So the idea occurred several years ago that someone might be able to use this kind of technology to go in and stimulate those hibernating brain regions and somehow get them back on track," says Dr. George.

TMS gently targets those sections of the brain. That would be an improvement over traditional electroconvulsive (or shock) therapy, where the entire brain is jolted into a seizure -- with side effects like memory loss and headaches.

Two out of three patients respond positively to TMS. Joyce Daniels is one of them. On a scale of one to 10? "Sometimes I felt I was below zero, and now I feel I'm about an eight," says Joyce.

Best of all, just after the procedure she can go back to something else that makes her happy.

TMS has been tried on fewer than a hundred patients. So tests are continuing. It may be a couple of years before TMS is available to the public. The results are just temporary -- most patients suffer a relapse in six months, unless they're placed on anti-depressants -- about the same as traditional shock therapy.

If you would like more information, please contact:

Ellen Bank
Medical University of South Carolina
Rm. 106 Adm. Bldg.
171 Ashley Ave.
Charleston, SC 29425
803-792-2626