Want to know more about the new SAINT depression treatment?
You’re in luck.
SAINT was seen on CBS and the FDA recently gave it the “breakthrough status” accolade.
…Meaning it is one step closer to becoming available to everyone!
Though it’s a hot topic for discussion, there’s still limited information about it online.
We, at Success TMS, are a top-rate provider of magnetic therapy for depression and are watching closely.
So, we scoured every conceivable resource to bring you the facts so far about SAINT! (with the help and knowledge of our esteemed medical team)
SAINT Depression Treatment | Everything You Need to Know
- What is SAINT Depression Treatment?
- What’s the Difference Between SAINT and TMS Depression Treatment?
- How Does it Work? Is it Effective?
- Is SAINT Depression Treatment Safe? What Are The Side Effects?
- How Much Does it Cost?
- Where Can I Get SAINT Depression Treatment Done?
- Getting Help For Your Depression
- Additional Resources You May Find Useful
What is SAINT Depression Treatment?
Simply put, “Stanford Accelerated Intelligent Neuromodulation Therapy” or “SAINT” for short is a new intensive and individualized form of transcranial magnetic stimulation (aka TMS Therapy).
Similar to TMS therapy, it is free from medication!
…And, so far, promises fast and effective results within just days of treatment!
The potential new therapy targets high doses of transcranial magnetic stimulation to underactive areas of a patient’s brain, delivering them on a much more accelerated timeline than the already FDA-approved TMS treatment.
Could this new approach (like the name implies) be heaven-sent?
Spearheaded by leading Stanford Medical Researchers, clinical trials are underway to explore how sustainable the accelerated SAINT therapy is to treat patients with severe depression.
What Is the Difference Between SAINT and TMS Treatment?
The technology to deliver SAINT depression treatment is nothing new.
We’ve been using similar modalities to effectively treat depression, anxiety, OCD, PTSD and more since 2008.
With TMS, 83% of patients see significant improvement and 62% achieve complete remission. (Neurostar TMS devices Sackeim, et al. 2020)
The only real difference?
The frequency and intensity of each session.
Of course, there are different ways to perform the procedure, and techniques are likely to change as experts learn more about the most effective ways to perform treatments.
Standford researchers reported that SAINT therapy improves on the current FDA-approved therapy TMS by:
- increasing the number of magnetic pulses
- using a specific frequency called Theta burst
- speeding up the pace of the treatment
- and most notably, targeting the pulses according to each individual neurocircuitry.
Both TMS and SAINT treatments pinpoint the exact spots where the brain is underactive in depression and stimulate these targeted areas with a magnetic coil similar to an MRI.
The goal?
To replicate the way a healthy brain communicates with itself, by repeating pulses to essentially teach the brain how to maintain its optimal balance.
How does SAINT Depression Treatment Work? Is it Effective?
In recent decades, technological advancements such as neuroimaging have transformed the way medical professionals perceive and treat depression.
Perhaps most staggeringly neuroimaging illuminated the synchronicities of the regional brain and circuit-level abnormalities.
Since then, the magnetic stimulation of a variety of brain regions (such as the amygdala, hippocampus, and the dorsomedial thalamus) and circuits have been widely reported as having effective results for the treatment of depression.
A major landmark as humans in our fight against the dilapidating disorder!
SAINT depression treatment further explores the distributed nature of depression on an individual level, identifying the primary and secondary areas of concern to explain complex mental functions.
Once a treatment strategy for each individual patient has been mapped out the non-invasive procedure can begin.
An electromagnetic coil is then placed against a patients scalp, usually near the forehead and painlessly delivers a magnetic pulse that stimulates nerve cells in the region of your brain involved in mood control and depression.
What to Expect
Similarly to TMS treatment, you’ll relax in a comfortable reclining chair fitted with state-of-the-art specialized transcranial magnetic stimulation equipment.
During the treatment, you’ll be seated comfortably and fully awake.
You can read a book, watch TV or chat with your treater, whatever makes you happy.
Though trials are still being conducted to determine the optimal length and timeline of this new treatment, at this stage data suggests there is no post-treatment sluggishness, so you should be able to drive and resume your usual activities.
How Effective is It?
So far, Stanford’s small studies conclude that 90% of participants experienced rapidly relieved symptoms of severe depression.
Before undergoing the therapy, all 21 study participants were severely depressed, according to several diagnostic tests for depression. Afterward, 19 of them scored within the nondepressed range. Although all of the participants had suicidal thoughts before the therapy, none of them reported having suicidal thoughts after treatment. All 21 participants had previously not experienced improvements with medications, FDA-approved transcranial magnetic stimulation or electroconvulsive therapy. – Standford Medicine News Center
The researchers are now conducting larger, double-blinded trials in which half of the participants are receiving fake treatment.
Medical researchers at Standford are optimistic the second trial will prove to be similarly effective in treating people whose condition hasn’t improved with medication, talk therapy or other forms of electromagnetic stimulation.
We will update this post with more data as it is made available.
Is SAINT Depression Treatment Safe? What Are The Side Effects?
To be clear, SAINT depression therapy is not yet FDA-approved.
However, the data, so far, is undeniably promising.
As a result of the initial tests, there are now two larger SAINT medical trials underway, funded by the National Institutes of Health, including one that is testing SAINT in a hospital setting during a brain emergency, like a suicidal episode, where patients are under observation.
The only problematic statistic medical researchers are working to overcome is the likelihood of a subsequent suicide attempt or completion in the months after discharge.
The more time that passes, the more data will naturally emerge.
Similar to TMS treatments, the only side effects of the new SAINT therapy noted so far were some fatigue and minor discomfort during treatment.
The results of which were published online on April 6 in the American Journal of Psychiatry.
To reiterate, both TMS and SAINT depression treatments are very similar.
They are drug-free and non-invasive.
TMS therapy doesn’t have the side effects that are often associated with antidepressant medication, and hopefully, once the clinical trials are complete SAINT will show similar results.
Proven Results
Deirdre Lehman from San Francisco was one of the first patients to receive the new SAINT treatment.
For most of her life, medication and therapy helped to keep her depression under control.
But back in 2018, she had one of her “scariest episodes”.
Deirdre recalled:
“I said, ‘Clark, oh my God, the chatter is starting and I can feel it’s coming.’ This negative chatter about, ‘No one’s gonna love me. I’m ugly, I’m a burden. No one would miss me if I killed myself.'”
She was referred to Dr. Nolan Williams, the director of Stanford University’s Brain Stimulation Lab in Palo Alto, California where he was running a trial for the new experimental treatment.
In photos of Deirdre’s first SAINT treatments, just days after that suicidal crisis began, she went from a blank stare to eating, to actually smiling, all in one day.
She said, “I had no chatter. None.”
According to Williams, “Within 24 hours, she was totally normal. Initially, I couldn’t believe it. And at some point, it just struck me that we’d found something that was really, really important.”
Read more about her story here on CBS here.
How Much Does it Cost?
While SAINT depression treatment is still in its early stages of becoming available, no cost yet has been determined for the new treatment.
Yet, as SAINT builds upon the already proven-to-work foundations of TMS therapy, naturally, TMS is as close as you can get to SAINT depression treatment right now.
At Success TMS you can get help for your depression today!
We offer a free consultation to help our medical doctors determine whether this is the right course of treatment for you or your loved one.
The good news?
The cost of TMS is usually covered by insurance and medicare!
TMS Depression Treatment Prices:
The cost of TMS is usually covered by insurance providers and Medicare. Over 300 million Americans are covered for TMS therapy.
However, you can pay out-of-pocket for the service. Typically, TMS treatment ranges at approx $200 USD per session depending on the provider.
*Subject to each patient’s individual requirements and specific needs*
Where Can I Get SAINT Depression Treatment Done?
When SAINT depression treatment becomes available and is proven safe by extensive research and data, we’ll be the first to look at adding it to our list of services ASAP.
Our mission is to save lives.
One of the easiest, FDA-approved and highly effective forms of treatment for depression available to you right now is TMS Therapy.
Everyone at Success TMS stands behind this mission.
Fast, effective treatment, delivered with care and compassion.
We offer our services across the country in:
- Florida
- Illinois
- Nevada
- New Jersey
- Pennsylvania
- Wisconsin
Find a Success TMS clinic near you and beat your depression today.
Get Effective Help For Your Depression & Feel Better
We’ve lived through this terrible disease personally, as brothers, as family and as friends!
Our team at Success TMS believes in providing a deeper and more compassionate level of care in order to maximize successful outcomes.
Depression affects more than just one person at a time.
Often, it affects a whole family, close friends, and even an entire community.
More than just having good doctors, at Success TMS we’ve created an experience for those who suffer from depression that fully empathizes with the constant struggle while focusing on positive attitudes and clinical outcomes.
But don’t just take our word for it!
We have thousands of life-affirming testimonials.
If you have a couple more minutes to hear one of them today, we’d like you to meet Carol…
Carol dealt with depression most of her life.
She was very nervous at first, but she pulled through with a bit of help from our wonderful Dr Zand and Rhonda.
“I literally was amazed. I don’t wake up with a cloud over me, I just don’t feel that way anymore”.
Watch her encouraging and hopeful story below:
Contact us to learn more about what Success TMS can do for depression, anxiety, OCD and PTSD.
Additional Success TMS Resources You May Find Useful
- How Does TMS Therapy Feel?
- How to Get The Best Results From Your TMS Treatment
- All The Clinical Trial Information You Need Before Inquiring About TMS Therapy
- TMS Therapy for Depression
All your questions are valid, and we’re here to answer them!
We offer expert and honest advice.
So, whether you’re interested in treatment for yourself or a loved one, leave your comments down below, and we’ll get back to you ASAP.
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Beat your depression without meds with our help.
