Dr. Reza Mohammad Physician Dr. Reza Mohammad and his team at the Las Virgenes Medical Clinic are the first Agoura Hills professionals to implement the Neurostar TMS Therapy system into their day-to-day practice. 

NeuroStar TMS Therapy is a new treatment cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for patients suffering from depression who have not achieved satisfactory improvement from prior an antidepressant treatment. TMS stands for transcranial magnetic stimulation.

TMS Therapy is noninvasive, meaning that it does not involve surgery. It does not require anesthesia or sedation, as the patient remains awake and alert during the treatment. It is also nonsystemic, meaning that it is not taken by mouth and does not circulate in the bloodstream. TMS Therapy is performed in a psychiatrist’s office under supervision using a medical device called the NeuroStar TMS Therapy system.

Through a treatment coil, the system generates highly concentrated, magnetic fields which turn on and off rapidly. These magnetic fields are the same type and strength as those produced by a magnetic resonance imaging machine.

The treatment coil is applied to the head above the left prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain believed to be involved with mood regulation and the location where the magnetic fields are focused. The fields do not directly affect the whole brain but only reach about 2 to 3 centimeters into the brain directly beneath the treatment coil.

As these magnetic fields move into the brain, they produce small electrical currents. These electrical currents activate cells within the brain, which are thought to release neurotransmitters (serotonin, norepinephrine and dopamine).

The clinic is at 30101 Agoura Court, Agoura Hills.

For more about the science behind the technology, visit www .losangelestmstreatmentcenter .com or call the clinic at (818) 879-9018.