A device that sends electric currents to the brain has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of obsessive compulsive disorder.
The device, known as the Brainsway Deep Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation System, was previously only approved to treat depression and headaches. The procedure uses magnetic fields to stimulate nerve cells in the brain.
“With today’s marketing authorization, patients with OCD who have not responded to traditional treatments now have another option,” said Carlos Pena, director of the Division of Neurological and Physical Medicine Devices in the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health.
The treatment is different from electroconvulsive therapy, which used to be known as electroshock therapy, because it doesn’t cause seizures or require someone to be sedated.
Patients typically go to a healthcare facility to get the treatments for 20 minutes, five times a week. The treatments last between four and six weeks.
OCD is a mental disorder in which someone has uncontrollable reoccurring thoughts and behaviors and repeats actions over and over. It affects 1 percent of the population.
One side effect reported during clinical trials was headaches, which affected 37.5 percent of patients who tried it. Patients also felt mild discomfort where the device was placed, as well as jaw pain, pain in the face, spasms, twitching, and neck pain, all of which went away shortly after.
