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Magnetic treatment on trial to replace electric shock therapy

Treatment of depression by electric shock could soon be replaced by magnetic technology.

Trials at an Australian hospital use a machine that induces seizures the way electroconvulsive therapy, or ECT, does, but with less harmful magnetic fields instead of electric currents.

Despite its reputation as a brutal practice, ECT has become increasingly common in the past 10 years, thanks to improvements in safety and the belief that it is the most powerful treatment for severely depressed people. The side effects include memory loss and disorientation.

The new magnetic machine is one of four in the world, and it is hoped the technology would benefit people who did not respond to first-line treatments for depression, such as antidepressant medications.

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