The pull of a new kind of treatment

City psychiatrists turn to magnetic therapy to treat conditions like schizophrenia and neurological problems like Parkinson's

For those unwilling to visit a psychiatrist or keen to lower their dosage of medication, this might be good news. A new kind of therapy is fast becoming acceptable among city therapists and psychiatrists. It requires that the patient sit in a chair that emits a tapping noise.

Called Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS), a pulsed magnetic field is used to influence the electrical activity in the brain. "After the doctor has identified the region of the brain which is responsible for the condition, magnetic stimulation is given to that spot which helps to balance the level of neuro transmitters," said psychiatrist Dr Anjali Chabria.

Though the technique is new, it is already doing wonders for some. Shashank Sharma (38, name changed) was suffering from acute depression. A few sessions of magnetic stimulation motivated Sharma, who had sat at home for a whole year, to take up a job.

Besides psychiatric disorders, the therapy is also being used to treat neurological disorders like Parkinson's Disease, stroke-related paralysis and Multiple Sclerosis. Delhi-based psychiatrist Dr Sanjay Chugh, who has been treating neuro-psychiatry disorders with this method for the last three years, said, "There are people, who after undergoing magnetic stimulation, have improved drastically.

I had a patient, who had suffered from a stroke and was left with impaired speech and paralysis. After undergoing treatment followed by physiotherapy, he regained his speech."u00a0u00a0But, Chugh cautioned, the technique only works if it is used correctly.

Dr Yusuf Matchiswalla, head of the psychiatry department of Masina Hospital, Byculla said that magnetic stimulation is the treatment of the future. "The treatment is well accepted in Europe and it is an FDA-approved procedure in USA. The treatment has minimal side effects like headache and seizures. As opposed to Electro-convulsive Therapy, which is not very popular, this is the next best option."

Doctors boast that in the last 12 years of magnetic stimulation, no side effects of the method have been reported. However, Dr Nilesh Shah, head of psychiatry department of Sion Hospital, said "The efficacy of this practice cannot be equated with existing available treatment like ECT and medicines."