����ԭ��

For decades, researchers at ����ԭ�� have been studying and leveraging innovative treatments for drug-resistant depression — which affects 30% of those who have been diagnosed with major depressive disorder.

Their early work is now experiencing an exciting innovation: a new, condensed treatment that is available to patients who have been struggling to find relief.

Using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), the new, noninvasive and nonsurgical Stanford Accelerated Intelligent Neuromodulation Therapy — or SAINT — provides intensive and highly personalized treatment.

“There are so many instances where we — or a loved one — have personally seen depression,” Sheila Dowd, PhD, interim co-chairperson and vice chair for faculty affairs, department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, said. “It's powerful. It's impactful. Affecting your life and loved ones. To find TMS successful and to bring one more option for people to try and treat depression has been a highlight of my career.”

Approved by the FDA in 2022, this neuromodulation therapy is designed to help patients achieve remission from depression symptoms in just five days. Unlike medication, which can take weeks or months to show results, SAINT uses a targeted, accelerated approach to stimulate areas of the brain that are under-active in people with depression.

Rush is the first health system in Illinois offering SAINT. Unlike standard TMS protocols that require daily sessions over several weeks, SAINT is delivered with pulses 10 times a day over five consecutive days. Using functional MRI to map each patient’s brain connectivity and identify a targeted region involved in mood regulation, clinicians are able to individualize treatment for each patient. This precision-based approach is designed to more directly engage the neural circuits associated with depression.

“We believe this will be a game changer for so many who have been unable to find an effective treatment,” Dowd said. “Over 30 years of research and implementation have contributed to where we are today — and the fact SAINT has been shown to be 79% effective demonstrates just how far we have come.”

Eligible patients must have failed to achieve satisfactory improvement from prior antidepressant medication in their current episode and undergo a full assessment prior to treatment — which is fully covered under Medicare.