Scientists have reported a new method that can cure depression in five days.

The new transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) format can shorten the course of depression treatment from six to eight weeks to five days. This was reported on February 25 by Science Daily magazine.

TMS is a non—invasive procedure in which magnetic impulses affect areas of the brain associated with mood. The method is used in resistant depression and, according to large studies, reduces the severity of symptoms in 60-70% of patients. At the same time, 25-35% of people achieve remission.

The researchers tested the accelerated 5x5 protocol: five sessions per day for five consecutive days. The study involved 175 patients with resistant depression, 135 of whom underwent a standard course (one session per day, five days a week, six weeks), and 40 — accelerated. There was a significant decrease in symptoms in both groups, while there were no statistically significant differences in the overall results.

"For patients with treatment-resistant depression, going to the clinic every weekday for at least six weeks can be a real obstacle. This study suggests that we can offer these same patients a pathway to significant symptom relief in less than a week by reducing 25 TMS sessions to just five days," said the study's lead author, a graduate student at the Institute of Neuroscience and Human Behavior. Semele at the University of California, Los Angeles Michael Apostol.

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The researchers paid special attention to patients in the accelerated group who did not show significant improvement immediately after completing the course. When re-evaluated after two to four weeks, they recorded a significant decrease in depression rates — by an average of 36%. This indicates that the effect may be delayed.

The authors emphasize that the accelerated method has shown encouraging results, but the standard six-week course has demonstrated more stable performance in a number of long-term parameters. In addition, the study was not randomized, so larger-scale controlled trials are needed to confirm the findings.

On February 12, Science Daily magazine reported a reduction in the risk of depression when replacing TV watching with sports. The most noticeable improvements were observed in middle-aged people. The study found that replacing one hour of daily TV time with other activities reduced their risk of depression by 18.78%

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