For the first time, researchers from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) have identified two clusters of depressive symptoms that respond to two distinct treatment targets in patients undergoing transcranial magnetic brain stimulation (TMS).

TMS is a non-invasive procedure that affects brain activity with powerful magnetic fields.

The findings, published in the American Journal of Psychiatry, shed new light on the brain circuitry behind specific symptoms of depression and may pave the way for personalized TMS therapy for depression and other psychiatric or neurological disorders.

Specifically, the analysis identified two distinct clusters of depressive symptoms, with each responding better to a different TMS target.

One cluster included symptoms such as sadness, decreased interest, and suicidality, while a smaller cluster included symptoms such as irritability, sexual disinterest and insomnia. The researchers referred to these symptom clusters as “dysphoric” and “anxiosomatic,” respectively.

Depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide, affecting as many as one in four women and one in eight men in their lifetime. According to the most recent government statistics, more than 17 million adults in the United States struggled with depression in 2017.

Clinicians have long recognized that depression manifests in different ways across individuals; official diagnostic criteria include weight loss or weight gain, excessive sleeping or insomnia, inability to concentrate or obsessive rumination.

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Source: Psychcentral

Last updated: 15 May 2020

By Traci Pedersen