New Publication in Brain Stimulation Confirms Full TMS Treatment Course Is Vital

Lack of early symptom improvement is not predictive of final responder status

MALVERN, Pa., April 10, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Neuronetics, Inc. (NASDAQ: STIM), a medical technology company focused on designing, developing, and marketing products that improve the quality of life for patients who suffer from neurohealth disorders, announced the publication of significant clinical findings in Brain Stimulation: Basic, Translational, and Clinical Research in Neuromodulation, the premier journal in the field of neuromodulation. This analysis concludes that while early symptom improvement in major depressive disorder (MDD) is strongly predictive of response at the completion of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) treatment (36 sessions), lack of early improvement does not predict final treatment outcome. 

"These findings provide hope for practitioners and patients alike that a lack of improvement early in a TMS treatment regimen does not predict final non-response status, reinforcing the importance of completing the full prescribed treatment course for maximum results," said Cory Anderson, Senior Vice President of Research & Development and Clinical, Neuronetics. "Insurers, practitioners, and patients can all take note that patients who are slow to respond to the treatment process still have a significant likelihood of improving by the end of their full course. This paper builds upon prior publications utilizing data from our proprietary TrakStar database, which showed a correlation between treatment sessions completed and positive clinical outcomes. Treating to completion of 36 NeuroStar sessions offers patients the greatest potential to benefit from NeuroStar TMS treatment."

The findings are based on research from the NeuroStar Outcomes Registry, the world's largest registry of depression outcomes. In a sample of 7,215 MDD patients treated with NeuroStar TMS Therapy, two rigorous analytical methods were used to evaluate the accuracy of early treatment progress (after 10, 20, and 30 sessions) in predicting final patient outcomes after 36 sessions. Researchers found that slow improvement early in treatment does not accurately predict final non-responder status. In fact, at 10 sessions, predicting a non-responder was only 51% accurate and at 20 sessions, it was only 63% accurate when analyzing for maximum prediction accuracy as described in the paper.