rtms for anxiety
rTMS for Anxiety Disorders
Life can be stressful, so it’s normal to feel anxious from time to time. However, anxiety can also be excessive and persistent. If you find that your anxiety or constant worrying prevents you from completing your daily activities, this could be a sign of Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD). Struggling with GAD is common (1). Unfortunately, common treatments do not work for everyone; half of patients with GAD may not respond to first-line medications.
rTMS for anxiety disorders is an emerging treatment showing promise for those who do not respond to traditional methods.
rTMS treatment for anxiety is gaining recognition due to its effectiveness in treating GAD.
GAD is a multifactorial disease that includes psychological and biological models. People with anxiety disorders can have an overactive alarm system and have unhealthy thinking habits. In addition, it is believed that certain regions in the brain responsible for emotion are overactive, and other areas such as the prefrontal cortex areas are underactive.
Current treatments for GAD include medications such as antidepressants and psychotherapy including cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT).
There is growing evidence to support rTMS as a treatment for GAD. A recent review that looked at 21 studies and nearly 1500 patients concluded that rTMS had a substantial positive impact in patients with Generalized Anxiety Disorder. It also found that taking medications and rTMS was better than taking medication alone (2).
Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is a non-invasive, highly effective treatment that uses electromagnetic impulses that pass easily through the skull to stimulate abnormal brain activity without any systematic side effects or downtime.
- Parikh, T. K., Strawn, J. R., Walkup, J. T., & Croarkin, P. E. (2021). Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation for generalized anxiety disorder: A systematic literature review and meta-analysis. International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology. https://doi.org/10.1093/ijnp/pyab077
- Cui, H., Jiang, L., Wei, Y., Li, W., Li, H., Zhu, J., … & Li, C. (2019). Efficacy and safety of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation for generalised anxiety disorder: A meta-analysis. General psychiatry, 32(5).
