Treatment Options for Drug-Resistant Depression

Our speaker for the April 16th meeting was Dr. Dallas Auvil, psychiatrist at the Lindner Center of HOPE. Dr. Auvil talked about the availability now of two new research programs for people with medication-resistant depression. The Center soon will offer ECT (Electro-Convulsive Therapy) and TMS (Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation).

Dr. Auvil explained that the ECT is not the ECT depicted in movie "One Flew Over the Cukoo's Nest) that instilled fear and stigma into this form of treatment. He explained it is easily tolerated by elderly, even fragile patients, in controlled dosages. It can be very effective for people who are depression-resistant to typical medications. It can even be successfully used for people with bipolar illness in some cases to control the depression part of their illness.

TMC is also another research-based treatment for drug-resistant patients. This non-invasive method places powerful magnets over the surface of the brain which then offers relief to an estimated 35% of patients. ECT has a much higher success rate than TMS but both offer new approaches to depression treatment at the Lindner Center of HOPE. Memory loss in ECT is usually temporary and involves memory of recent events.