New Drug Free Treatment Battles Depression

Fighting depression is a tough battle for many people, in part because medications don't always work.

There is hope on the horizon for sufferers, however, as a new drug free treatment is helping people find happiness again.

Ari is a woman who has battled depression for 10 years and asked us not to use her last name. She says depression hurt what she loves the most.

"It feels as if there is no point in doing anything," she said. "I had become very hopeless about my music, about my future as a composer."

Medication wasn't enough, so she tried a new treatment that uses magnets to stimulate brain activity. An electromagnet on the scalp sends thousands of small electrical pulses which stimulate brain cells or neurons to fire, or activate.

"It just feels like somebody is tapping on your head," Ari said.

It's called transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). It is still so new that experts aren't entirely sure how it works. It may increase chemicals in the brain like serotonin and dopamine, which help fight off depression.

New research shows it's wiping away the symptoms for many patients, with very few side effects.

"Most common was a headache or scalp discomfort where the stimulation was being held," said Dr. Sarah Lisanby of Columbia Medical Center. "The brain stimulation costs about $300 to $500 a session and is not yet covered by insurance."

Ari says it's worth it.

"It reinvigorated me," she said. "It made me feel as if there was a reason for me to get up and do what I do each day."

She hopes it will soon become a standard treatment for people who need more than medication.

Generally, patients undergo the treatment five days a week for a month. Each session is about 40 minutes.

The procedure was just approved for the treatment of depression last October, and is now being tested on patients with post traumatic stress disorder and schizophrenia.

CBS 2