OCD (Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder)

Now treatable with Brainsway Deep TMS, the only FDA cleared TMS device to treat OCD is available at our Denver and Lakewood offices.

More than two million adults in the United States suffer from obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), which is characterized by a pattern of obsessive thoughts and compulsive, repetitive behaviors. For many, treatment with antidepressant medications delivered at very high doses is able to control the disorder. However, up to 40 percent1 of those suffering from OCD are considered treatment-resistant, which means that they are not, or are no longer, responding to first-line treatment with medication or psychotherapy. To learn more about TMS for OCD, call our Greater Denver area office at 303-884-3867.

Symptoms of OCD

The term OCD is often misused to describe people who are simply neat or like things arranged in a particular fashion. In reality, OCD is an anxiety disorder that can dramatically interfere with a person’s daily life.

Obsessions are uncontrollable thoughts or fears that cause stress. A compulsion is a ritual or action that is repeated over and over. In some cases, compulsions are used by those suffering from OCD to offer temporary relief.

OCD symptoms include persistent and recurring impulses, thoughts and images that are unwanted. These may include:

• Repeated unwanted ideas
• Fear of contamination
• Aggressive impulses
• Hoarding
• Persistent sexual thoughts
• Images of hurting someone you love
• Thoughts that you be harmed or might cause others harm

For example, a person with OCD may continually check their doors and windows in their home to be sure they are locked, out of fear that someone may attempt to enter their home without their knowledge or permission.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Treatment with Deep TMS

In August 2018, the FDA cleared Brainsway Deep TMS for treating OCD, a major milestone for individuals suffering from this disorder. The clearance was based on a study conducted in 11 medical centers in the United States, Canada and Israel. The study included only patients who were treatment-resistant and included twenty-minute Deep TMS sessions conducted five times per week over a six-week period. More than half of those in the active group achieved a 20 percent or greater reduction in symptom severity.

The Brainsway Deep TMS for OCD used at TMS Center of Colorado differs from other TMS devices because it can directly stimulate areas of the brain at a greater depth and breadth safely and efficiently. One such area is the anterior cingulate cortex, a region known for many years to be directly involved in OCD. A special coil was developed to target this area – versus the lateral pre-frontal cortex targeted in treating depression – and as a result, the Brainsway Deep TMS device is the only TMS system on the market cleared for OCD treatment.

TMS Center of Colorado was the first center in Denver—and one of the first in the United States—to treat OCD with Deep TMS.