Frequently Asked Questions

NeuroStar® TMS Therapy may be covered on a case-by-case basis. You can work with your doctor and the NeuroStar® Care Connection (NCC) program to seek case-by-case coverage. The NCC staff is made up of trained case managers who can help you and your doctor with the reimbursement process. Learn more about the NeuroStar® Care Connection.

In the mean time, out-of-pocket payment may be required. NeuroStar® TMS Therapy can be paid for from a healthcare flexible spending account.

Yes, NeuroStar® TMS Therapy is FDA approved as of October 8, 2008.

Yes. In clinical trials, NeuroStar® TMS Therapy was safely administered with and without other antidepressant medications.

In most patients, the clinical benefit of NeuroStar® TMS Therapy was maintained through 6 months of follow-up study. Talk to your doctor about your long-term treatment path.

The most common side effect related to treatment was scalp discomfort during treatment sessions. This side effect was generally mild to moderate, and occurred less frequently after the first week of treatment.

If necessary, you can treat this discomfort with an over-the-counter analgesic. If these side effects persist, your doctor can temporarily reduce the strength of the magnetic field pulses being administered in order to make treatment more comfortable.

Less than 5% of patients treated with NeuroStar® TMS Therapy discontinued treatment due to side effects.

No, NeuroStar® TMS Therapy was systematically evaluated for its effects on memory. Clinical trials demonstrated that NeuroStar® TMS Therapy does not result in any negative effects on memory or concentration. In fact, recent studies indicate that TMS can improve memory deficits.

No, NeuroStar® TMS Therapy uses the same type and strength of magnetic fields as MRIs (magnetic resonance imaging), which have been used in tens of millions of patients around the world and have not been shown to cause tumors. The magnetic energy used in a full course of NeuroStar® TMS Therapy is a small fraction of just one brain scan with an MRI.

NeuroStar® TMS Therapy is well tolerated and has been proven to be safe in clinical trials. Throughout over 10,000 active treatments performed in clinical trials, the most commonly reported side effect related to treatment was scalp discomfort during treatment sessions. This side effect was generally mild to moderate, and occurred less frequently after the first week of treatment. Less than 5% of patients treated with NeuroStar® TMS Therapy discontinued treatment due to side effects.

In NeuroStar® clinical trials, over 10,000 TMS treatments demonstrated its safety, with no occurrence of seizures. However, there is a small risk of a seizure occurring during treatment. This risk is no greater than what has been observed with oral antidepressant medications.

While NeuroStar® TMS Therapy has been proven effective, not all patients will benefit from it. Patients should be carefully monitored for worsening symptoms, signs or symptoms of suicidal behavior, and/or unusual behavior. Families and caregivers should also be aware of the need to observe patients and notify their treatment provider if symptoms worsen.

In clinical trials, patients received NeuroStar® TMS Therapy 5 times per week for 37-minute sessions over 4-6 weeks.

Patients treated with NeuroStar® TMS Therapy should receive treatment for a minimum of four weeks with additional treatments based on clinical judgment.

No, the two procedures are very different. While both are effective in the treatment of depression, there are many differences in safety and tolerability.

During the NeuroStar® TMS Therapy procedure, patients sit in a chair and are awake and alert throughout the entire 37-minute procedure – no sedation is used with NeuroStar® TMS Therapy. Patients can transport themselves to and from treatment.

In over 20,000 active treatments with NeuroStar® TMS Therapy in clinical trials, no seizures were observed. NeuroStar® TMS Therapy was also shown to have no negative effects on memory function in these studies.

In contrast, "shock therapy," or electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), intentionally causes a seizure. Patients receiving ECT must be sedated with general anesthesia and paralyzed with muscle relaxants. Recovery from an ECT treatment session occurs slowly, and patients are usually closely monitored for up to a few hours after a treatment.

Short-term confusion and memory loss are common, and long-term disruptions in memory have been shown to occur and may persist indefinitely in some people. Because of the side effects associated with ECT, a significant amount of caregiver support is required.

No. NeuroStar® TMS Therapy involves a unique method of using pulsed magnetic fields for potential therapeutic benefit. The intensity of the magnetic field is similar to that of the magnetic fields used in magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI. These techniques differ radically from the popular use of low intensity, static magnetic fields. These products deliver weak and undirected static fields that are not capable of activating brain cells.

NeuroStar® is non-systemic (does not circulate in the blood throughout the body), so it does not have side effects such as weight gain, sexual dysfunction, nausea, dry mouth, sedation, etc. The most common side effects reported during clinical trials were headache and scalp discomfort – generally mild to moderate – occurring less frequently after the first week of treatment.

NeuroStar® TMS Therapy has been cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of patients with depression who have failed to achieve satisfactory improvement from prior antidepressant medication. Like any treatment option, you and your doctor should work together to find the most appropriate treatment option for you.

The NeuroStar® TMS Therapy system uses short pulses of magnetic fields to stimulate the area of the brain that is thought to function abnormally in patients with depression. The magnetic field produces an electric current in the brain that stimulates the brain cells (neurons). This results in changes that are thought to be beneficial in the treatment of depression.

TMS stands for NeuroStar® transcranial magnetic stimulation. It is used to treat depression by stimulating the brain non-invasively using electromagnetic fields, similar to those produced by an MRI machine. During NeuroStar® TMS Therapy, a magnetic field is administered in very short pulses to the part of your brain that research has demonstrated to be associated with depression. The typical initial course of treatment is about 37 minutes daily over 4-6 weeks.