NBC Boston reports five-day accelerated TMS in Belmont

Accelerated TMS schedule

NBC Boston reports that a hospital in Belmont is using accelerated transcranial magnetic stimulation, or TMS, for people with treatment-resistant depression, anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder. The report describes the approach as shortening a treatment course that can take more than eight weeks to about five days.

According to NBC Boston, the accelerated schedule includes 10 treatment sessions each day for five days. The sessions are about 20 minutes long and are separated by an hour. NBC Boston reports that this structure allows multiple TMS sessions to be completed in one day rather than spread across a longer period.

Conditions described in the report

NBC Boston identifies treatment-resistant depression, anxiety and OCD as the conditions being treated with the accelerated TMS approach at the Belmont hospital. The report does not describe how patients are selected for this schedule or compare the approach with other TMS schedules.

The report frames the five-day program as an accelerated treatment model. According to NBC Boston, the schedule consists of daily sessions over five consecutive days, with 10 sessions completed each day. The report says each session lasts about 20 minutes, followed by about an hour before the next session.

Reported response and remission figures

NBC Boston cites the hospital’s medical director of TMS as saying that about 50% to 60% of people have a meaningful response to treatment. In the report, a meaningful response is defined as a 50% improvement in symptoms.

The same NBC Boston report says about 25% to 30% of people have full remission. These figures were presented in the report in connection with the accelerated TMS program described for treatment-resistant depression, anxiety and OCD.

NBC Boston does not provide additional detail in the extract about the number of people included in those estimates, how outcomes were measured beyond the stated symptom-improvement definition, or how long reported outcomes were followed.

Side effects noted

According to NBC Boston, the most common side effects reported with the accelerated TMS approach are scalp discomfort and headaches during the first few days. The source extract does not list other side effects or describe how often these effects occur.

What this means for Massachusetts patients

For Massachusetts residents looking for local TMS treatment information, the directory lists 146 published clinics in Massachusetts and can help people identify nearby options to discuss with a qualified provider.

This is general information, not medical advice.