An experimental depression treatment uses electric currents to bring relief

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2022/02/06/ [login to see] /an-experimental-depression-treatment-uses-electric-currents-to-bring-relief
After 40 years of fighting debilitating depression, Emma was on the brink.

"I was suicidal," said Emma, a 59-year-old Bay Area resident. NPR is not using her full name at her request because of the stigma of mental illness. "I was going to die."

Over the years, Emma sat through hours of talk therapy and tried numerous anti-depression medications "to have a semblance of normalcy." And yet she was consumed by relentless fatigue, insomnia and chronic nausea.

Depression is the world's leading cause of disability, partly because treatment options often result in numerous side effects or patients do not respond at all. And there are many people who never seek treatment because mental illness can carry heavy stigma and discrimination. Studies show untreated depression can lead to suicide.

Three years ago, Emma's psychiatrist urged her to enroll in a study at Stanford University School of Medicine designed for people who had run out of options. On her first day, scientists took an MRI scan to determine the best possible location to deliver electrical pulses to her brain. Then for a 10 minute block every hour for 10 hours a day for five consecutive days, Emma sat in a chair while a magnetic field stimulated her brain.