A new depression treatment may rival electroconvulsive therapy while avoiding one of its biggest drawbacks

An international clinical trial led by researchers at the Center for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) and University of California San Diego School of Medicine, published in The Lancet Psychiatry, has found that magnetic seizure therapy (MST) is as effective as electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)—the current gold-standard treatment for severe, treatment-resistant depression—with significantly fewer cognitive side effects.