[Transcranial magnetic stimulation. A diagnostic means from neurology as therapy in psychiatry?]

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) has been used since a decade to investigate the central motor system in the neurological routine diagnostic. From this experience TMS has proved to be a save and well tolerated procedure. In the past few years several studies investigated TMS to electrically stimulate deeper brain regions to find antidepressive effects in analogy to electro convulsive therapy (ECT). This could be of great advantage as TMS is well tolerated and does not require general anesthesia. There have been some case reports and also some controlled clinical studies on TMS as a therapeutic tool. The results of these studies have been promising. Many questions regarding technical and clinical aspects remain to be answered. In the future however TMS could be a valuable addition in the treatment of depression.