University of Iowa Health Care is among only three academic medical centers in the nation, and the first in the Midwest, to offer what promises to be groundbreaking treatment for people who are dealing with major depression. Dr. Nick Trapp, a University of Iowa Psychiatry Professor, says they’re using a time-tested type of therapy along with several innovative new techniques.
The device can help to stimulate the brain, he says, or potentially inhibit certain regions as they relate to depression or obsessive-compulsive disorder. While T-M-S has been around for years, the so-called SAINT version of the technology now in use in Iowa City is brand new. Trapp says it can help to pinpoint the best location to target in each patient’s brain.
SAINT stands for Stanford Accelerated Intelligent Neuromodulation Therapy, and Trapp trained under the researchers who developed it at Stanford University. Besides being guided by the precise imagery, he says SAINT has other remarkable, novel benefits for patients.
SAINT has only been in use at the UI for a matter of months, and Trapp says it’s being used in a limited number of patients who have major depression and who haven’t responded to other therapies and medications. He says the early data shows up to 80% of patients experience remission of their depression symptoms, with the effects often lasting months.
