Weill Cornell Medicine’s Department of Psychiatry has a Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Therapy (TMS) Program at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, in New York City. TMS offers a new, safe and effective option for patients suffering from major depression whose symptoms persist despite prior treatment attempts with antidepressant medications. Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Therapy is designed for adults, 18 years of age and older.
The TMS Program provides expert evaluation of patients to insure suitability for TMS therapy, and consistent monitoring throughout the course of treatment. TMS involves the administration of a small magnetic field over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, one of the areas implicated in depression. The NeuroStar TMS Therapy® has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of depression in individuals who have not achieved satisfactory improvement despite the use of antidepressants.
Using very short pulses of magnetic energy to alter the activity of nerve cells in the brain, TMS involves no radiation or electrical stimulation, and requires no anesthesia. Patients remain awake and alert during the procedure. The standard outpatient treatment typically lasts for 40 minutes, and is performed under the supervision of a psychiatrist. The number of sessions recommended is based on the individual patient's need and response to treatment. For most patients, treatment is administered daily, for four to six weeks.
Marc Dubin, M.D., Ph.D., is board certified in Psychiatry and serves as the TMS Program Director.
To make an appointment or referral to the TMS Program, or to learn additional information, please contact the TMS Treatment Coordinator at 212-746-5817, or by e-mail at TMSinfo@med.cornell.edu
