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Crash Course Might Speed Brain Stimulation Treatment For Depression, Study Suggests
- February 27, 2026
- Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
A brain stimulation therapy for depression can show results in as little as a workweek, a new study says.
Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) typically requires daily clinic visits over six to eight weeks, a rather rigorous schedule for people grappling with depression.
But patients can see benefits in as little as five days if they undergo five sessions per day, researchers will report in the June issue of the Journal of Affective Disorders.
This “five-by-five” treatment eased depression scores on par with conventional TMS among a small group of patients, researchers found.
“For patients with treatment-resistant depression, getting to the clinic every weekday for at least six weeks can be a real obstacle,” said lead researcher Michael Apostol, a doctoral student at the UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior.
“What this study suggests is that we may be able to offer those same patients a path to meaningful relief in less than one week by condensing 25 TMS treatments over just five days,” he said in a news release.
TMS applies magnetic pulses to stimulate specific areas of the brain through electrodes placed on a patient’s scalp.
Large studies have shown that TMS can significantly reduce depression symptoms in 60% to 70% of patients, with 25% to 35% becoming completely symptom-free, researchers said in background notes.
In fact, most insurance plans cover TMS treatment for depression, researchers said.
To see if TMS could be applied more efficiently, researchers had 40 patients receive an accelerated protocol of five sessions per day for five days in a row. Each session took nine to 15 minutes.
Their progress was compared to another group of 135 patients who received conventional TMS therapy of one session a day, five days a week, for six weeks.
All of the patients suffered from depression that had not been eased using antidepressant medications.
Both groups showed meaningful reductions in depression symptoms, with no statistically significant difference in outcomes, researchers said.
Interestingly, half of the five-by-five patients did not show an immediate improvement in their depression, but showed a 36% decrease in symptoms after two to four weeks.
“All patients in this study had not benefited from multiple trials of antidepressant medication, yet they obtained great benefit from five-by-five treatment,” senior researcher Dr. Andrew Leuchter, director of the TMS Service at UCLA, said in a news release.
“Some patients need to wait a few days or weeks to see benefit, and we encourage them not to give up too quickly if they don't feel better right away,” Leuchter said. “We are finding that the benefits of five-by-five can be even greater” if additional days of treatment occur after two weeks.
However, researchers noted that this was not a formal clinical trial, and that larger trials will be needed to confirm their findings.
More information
The Cleveland Clinic has more on transcranial magnetic stimulation.
SOURCE: UCLA, news release, Feb. 23, 2026
