Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a widely used technique to treat and cure depression and other mental health conditions. But the mechanism behind this was not fully clear to the doctors and scientists.
Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is also the most effective treatment to treat and cure depression. But this procedure is conducted under general anaesthesia in which small electric currents are passed through the brain causing a short seizure. This technique caused a lot of stigma as well. Therefore, the doctors and scientists were exploring alternative technique to only stimulate one part of the brain without a generalised seizure.
Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is the right technique to stimulate only one part of the brain without a generalised seizure. A research team of Dr Anish Mitra at Stanford University in the United States reported the mechanism how severe depression could cause an abnormal brain signal and how magnetic stimulation can reset the abnormal flow of signal. Powerful magnetic stimulation can restore the normal directional flow of brain signal in the patients with depression and quickly relieve patients.
The abnormal neural activity in patients with depression can be used as a valuable biomarker for developing further treatment system. Before conducting treatment, the doctors should identify the biomarker in individual patient separately by using imaging, and then determine in which part of the brain they should perform transcranial magnetic stimulation.
Ref: Euronews, 2023. Scientists pinpoint how depression causes brain signals to go haywire – and how they can be rerouted. Updated: 26/05/2023, Url: https://www.euronews.com/next/2023/05/26/scientists-pinpoint-how-depression-causes-brain-signals-to-go-haywire-and-how-they-can-be-
Updates on multi-country outbreak of monkeypox (mpox)
Fourth meeting of the International Health Regulations (2005) (IHR) Emergency Committee on the Multi-Country Outbreak of monkeypox (mpox) was held on Thursday, 9 February 2023. The WHO Director-General reported that WHO recommended “mpox” as a synonym for monkeypox. There is a clear progress made in the global response to the multi-country outbreak of mpox. Furthermore, the number of reported cases had further decline since the last meeting.
Source: https://www.who.int/news
