Vital TMS Therapy & Mental Health Services
Accelerated TMS Clinic located in Washington, DC.
At Vital TMS Therapy & Mental Health Services, we offer an expedient option to treat depression within a 5 day accelerated treatment course in contrast to the standard 7 -week daily course. Our accelerated TMS program is based on the The SAINT™ Protocol, born at Stanford University and documented in the American Journal of Psychiatry in April 2020 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32252538/. It also received public media coverage, such as this inspiring story on CBS News. Stanford’s researchers noted that the SAINT™ Protocol significantly alleviated depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation in individuals with treatment-resistant depression within five days, all without harmful cognitive effects. Importantly, the study indicated that “78.6% of participants in the treatment group were no longer experiencing depression.” Neuropsychological testing revealed no adverse cognitive side effects, bolstering the accelerated iTBS’s safety and tolerance. This high efficacy was corroborated by a randomized controlled trial called SNT randomized controlled trial.
Accelerated TMS Q & A
Can I Experience the SAINT Protocol at Vital TMS Therapy & Mental Health Services?
It’s important to clarify that while our treatment approach at Vital TMS is an accelerated protocol, it does not mirror the precise approach, software, hardware, or cloud computing infrastructure of the SAINT™ Protocol.
At Vital TMS Therapy & Mental Health Services, we have witnessed expedited results using multiple iTBS treatments within our standard ½ hour daily 7-week TMS course when a patient’s insurance allows. Our accelerated 5-day TMS course builds on this expedited premise.
What Does the Accelerated Treatment Routine Encompass?
Anticipate multiple daily treatment sessions in a 5-day period. You will have an intake consultation with our Physician Assistant preceding an evaluation with our Psychiatrist. In addition to taking these necessary steps to ensure you are a good candidate, a cognitive assessment will be performed before and after the accelerated TMS course to determine how depression is affecting your cognition and to outline the effects of the treatment. We closely track your progress each day to make sure you are comfortable and tolerating the treatment well.
What is the cost of accelerated TMS?
Unfortunately, accelerated TMS therapy lacks coverage from insurance payers, even though it stands as an expedited depression treatment option, potentially mitigating the high costs of depression. At Vital we work hard to make TMS accessible. Ask the intake specialist for our special seasonal pricing and or financing options for this life changing therapy.
Is a positive outcome guaranteed?
While specific outcomes cannot be guaranteed, around 60-70% of patients experience benefits, evidenced by clinical trials. If you do not feel better at the end of the 5 days, you can opt to have more treatments, or we can discuss other treatment options. Keep in mind that many participants in the clinical trials experienced benefits at a delayed interval of up to 2 weeks after completing treatment.
Accelerated TMS continues to delivers favorable outcomes, especially in complex cases such as “Treatment Resistant Depression.” Furthermore, the intensive 5-day regimen extends accessibility to those distant from TMS centers or those unable to commit to the traditional 7-week daily course of treatment.
Effectiveness of Accelerated TMS Therapy
Clinical research underscores the potency of accelerated TMS or TBS therapy in treating depression. In a 2016 study https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnhum.2016.00480/full , Accelerated TBS treatment in depressed, suicidal patients was established to be safe and potentially capable of swiftly decreasing suicidal ideation.
A study published in the Journal of Affective Disorders in 2016 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0165032715314440 found that administering 20 iTBS sessions (5 daily sessions over 4 days) was both safe and led to meaningful clinical responses within a mere two weeks.
A 2018 clinical trial https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02017/full compared accelerated high-frequency rTMS (arTMS) with accelerated intermittent theta burst stimulation (aiTBS) in treating refractory depression. This study unveiled comparable clinical efficacy between both protocols, hinting at the potential of accelerated stimulation to hasten the transition from depression to response and remission.
