Recent News

21 Oct Dr Todd Hutton interview: “5 Things We Need To Do To Improve US Healthcare”

Dr. Todd Hutton, Medical Director of SoCal TMS, was recently interviewed by Authority Magazine, as part of their interview series called “5 Things We Must Do To Improve the US Healthcare System“.  Selected quotes:

“The key is staying well-informed about the latest research and utilizing innovative treatments. My patients trust me to address their depression using advanced TMS therapies like NeuroStar. This non-drug treatment is backed by the world’s largest depression Outcomes Registry, featuring the most extensive clinical dataset among all TMS systems for depression.”

“Finally, I’d like to emphasize the importance of increasing the availability of mental health care. Optimal health cannot be achieved without addressing mental well-being, and we’ve come to understand that when mental illnesses are left untreated, they contribute to heightened physical health issues, resulting in greater expenses within the system. The burdens of mental illness are tremendous, and we have not given it the priority that patients deserve.”

“Depression’s prevalence is staggering; there’s now even more than a 20% lifetime chance of having it as the numbers seem to keep rising. This means that more than one in five people will grapple with depression at some point. If it doesn’t affect you at some point, it will affect someone close to you. … I strongly advocate creating a movement to spread awareness about depression and available treatments. Depression often conceals itself, with people masking their suffering beneath a seemingly normal exterior. As we discovered from the NeuroStar Depression Barometer, nearly half of people suffering from depression wait a year or longer from the onset of symptoms to seek treatment. We can learn from the story of Anthony Bourdain, who appeared to have it all going on, leading a life filled with travel and adventure, but still died from suicide. This underscores the need to understand and treat the invisible struggles so many people face.”

14 Sep SoCal TMS Featured on Fox 11 News for Suicide Prevention Week

To kick off National Suicide Prevention/Awareness Week, Hal Eisner of Fox 11 News In Depth conducted an on-air interview with Dr. Todd Hutton, Medical Director of Southern California TMS Center, about the efficacy of transcranial magnetic stimulation in treating patients with depression symptoms.

The segment aired Sunday, September 10th, the official start to Suicide Prevention Week. After discussing the impact of the 988 Suicide Hotline with crisis care specialists, Hal brought Dr. Hutton on to talk about how TMS therapy works, its effectiveness, and how it compares to drug treatments..

The interview also featured testimony from one of Dr. Hutton’s patients, Damon Devine, who battled depression for nearly 40 years before discovering TMS as a potential treatment option. After commencing treatment with SoCal TMS, he experienced a dramatic improvement in his depression symptoms within just a few weeks.

To watch the news segment in full, click this link below:

https://www.foxla.com/news/in-depth-suicide-prevention-month

03 May SoCal TMS Medical Director is lead author on two more scholarly publications on effectiveness of TMS on Anxious Depression & Major Depressive Disorder

Dr. Todd Hutton, Medical Director of SoCal TMS, has long been recognized as a leader and noted expert in the field of TMS.  Dr Hutton  was just published again, twice as lead author of two more scholarly articles.

The most recent paper “The Anxiolytic and Antidepressant Effects of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation in Patients With Anxious Depression” in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, shows that TMS has a clinically meaningful effect on patients who have both depression and anxiety. “Routine TMS delivered in diverse clinical settings results in marked anxiolytic and antidepressant effects in patients with anxious depression. The extent of improvement in anxiety and depression symptoms strongly covaries“

The other paper, “Dosing Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation: Efficacy in Major Depressive Disorder as a function of number of treatment sessions“, shows that TMS is more effective as the number of treatment sessions increases.  “Data from this real-world, large database cohort, demonstrates a strong correlation between number of sessions in the TMS acute course and favorable MDD clinical outcomes. This increased benefit with increased treatment exposure also applies to individuals with incomplete benefit after 30 and 36 sessions. Extended treatment courses are associated with improved outcomes.”

You can click on this link to see a list of all of Dr Hutton’s publications.

01 Sep Pamela, an Actual Patient of Ours, Generously Shares Her TMS Journey

Pamela, a real patient of ours here at SoCal TMS, generously and kindly shares her experience with TMS treatments on her blog. We really appreciate how authentic, courageous, and emotionally-powerful, she is through her writing.

Please visit her blog by following this link:

Read Blog

01 Sep Medical Director of SoCal TMS Co-authors Article in the Journal of Affective Disorders

Dr. Todd Hutton, Medical Director of SoCal TMS was just published as co-author of the article “Clinical outcomes in a large registry of patients with major depressive disorder treated with Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation” in the Journal of Affective Disorders.

The article does an excellent job of objectively quantifying the efficacy of TMS in treating patients suffering from depression.

You can click on the link below to view online, or download the article in PDF form here.

30 Jul Dr. Todd Hutton Speaks With Christine Little About TMS Therapy as a Depression Treatment

Dr. Todd Hutton, Medical Director of Southern California TMS Center, was a special guest on the popular podcast, “A Little Advice With Christine Little.” This podcast is hosted by actress and comedian, Christine Little, whose work has been featured on platforms such as FOX, Huffington Post, and Voyage L.A. In this interview podcast, Christine asks for a layman’s explanation of what the FDA-approved depression treatment, Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) is, how it works, who it’s for, and how it continues to gain popularity with insurance companies.

Inside this interview with Dr. Hutton and Christine, you’ll learn about:

• How TMS stimulates parts of the brain that is underactive (which is one of the factors contributing to depression)
• Critical benefits of treating depression with TMS have over ECT (shock therapy) and standard antidepressants
• The success rate of TMS and how it stacks up against other depression treatments
• The role Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) plays in a patient’s treatment process
• How insurance companies look to cover this powerful depression treatment.

… and more. So please enjoy this podcast by clicking the play button below.