19 December 2008 – Dr George Kirov discusses his research on BBC Radio 4
Whitland, Wales, UK, 19 December 2008: In the recently aired BBC Radio 4 programme “All in the Mind”, Dr George Kirov explained the emerging benefits of a new type of treatment for major depressive disorders which is hoped will eventually replace electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). Magnetic seizure therapy (MST) uses strong, high frequency electromagnetic fields instead of electricity to elicit therapeutic seizures in patients. Initial trials using MST have demonstrated reduced side effects and reduced time to reorientation when compared with ECT.
As clinical senior lecturer of psychological medicine at Cardiff University, Dr Kirov has been conducting a pilot study using MST as a treatment for unresponsive major depression at the Whitchurch Hospital, Cardiff. Although currently ECT is viewed as the most effective and rapidly acting treatment for major depressive disorders, the cognitive adverse affects of using electric impulses, such as headaches, nausea, fatigue and memory loss, restricts its use.
During MST, the patient is sedated whilst an electromagnetic coil connected to a magnetic stimulator is positioned over the patient’s head. Dr Kirov uses a custom built machine designed specifically for the trials by Magstim, called a Magstim Theta. An electromagnetic coil is placed over the head to stimulate an area of the brain. The coil generates an electromagnetic field which passes through the scalp and skull, allowing the stimulus to be more focal, limiting exposure of other brain regions so reducing the possibility of amnesia or other side effects.
Dr Kirov’s study group of 9 patients received single sessions of both traditional ECT and MST. The initial research found that every patient who received MST recovered faster than after ECT, with the average recovery times being 7 minutes for MST and 22 minutes for ECT. Patients also reported a reduction in headaches, sickness and fatigue and found MST easier to cope with than ECT. Since the initial study group results were published, more patients have received MST at 4 trial centres based in Wales, Edinburgh, New York and Dallas, although these results are not yet available.
“This is a tremendous step forward,” remarks Dr Kirov, who plans to extend the study to a much larger group of patients over a longer period of time. It is hoped that a full trial will be able to measure the effectiveness of MST as a treatment for major depressive disorders. “If these trials are successful MST could well replace ECT in the future. However, to do so a stronger machine will be needed in order to elicit therapeutic seizures in every patient.” Further improvement of the technology is required to facilitate a move from ECT to MST.
Magstim are working in close collaboration with Dr Kirov to develop and improve magnetic stimulation technology for clinical research. Magstim products are used around the world by researchers in the areas of Neurology, Neurophysiology, Psychiatry, and Cognitive Neuroscience. The specialist Magstim Innovations team offers expert engineering and manufacturing capabilities to tackle unusual and demanding projects to advance the technology of neuromodulation and brain stimulation.