Alfred Health News

Australians now have access to a breakthrough treatment for depression.

Pioneered by mental health experts at The Alfred using revolutionary technology the treatment works to put the symptoms of depression into remission.

Launched by the Minister for Mental Health Mary Wooldridge recently, the Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) Clinic is a first for an Australian public hospital and will be offered at the Monash Alfred Psychiatry Research Centre (MAPrc).

$600,000 of funding has provided equipment for the new TMS Clinic which uses a magnetic current to target underactive areas of the brain inducing an electrical current in the nerve cells which increases their activity. It is non-invasive therapy and takes only 45-minutes. 

TMS will give hope to the 30 per cent of patients diagnosed with clinical depression who don't respond to medical or psychological treatment.

Ms Wooldridge said that the prevalence of treatment-resistant depression is significant, so providing a low cost, non-invasive and effective treatment is important in ensuring good patient outcomes.

Deputy director of MAPrc Professor Paul Fitzgerald said TMS uses a magnetic field to stimulate the front area of the brain.

"Depression affects mood, but it also affects a person's ability to concentrate, focus and think negatively about things.

"It seems by making the front area of the brain more active it re-establishes the capacity of the ‘thinking part' of the brain to control emotions," Paul said.