Wed, 02/16/2022 - 10:03
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Ashleigh Servadio, MSC
Executive Director
Clinical TMS Society
(845) 392.3238 phone
(559) 227.1463 fax
info@clinicaltmssociety.org
www.clinicaltmssociety.org
Clinical Standards Committee Statement regarding SNT protocol:
February 11, 2022 – Considerable interest has been generated both in the academic community as well as the popular media regarding a novel approach to providing Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) for treatment resistant depression (TRD). This new protocol was initially referred to as Stanford Accelerated Intelligent Neuromodulation Therapy (SAINT) but is now known as Stanford Neuromodulation Therapy (SNT). SNT has not been FDA-cleared and thus remains off-label. Nevertheless, some patients are requesting treatment with this protocol and providers are looking for guidance regarding its off-label use.
Although not FDA-cleared, the SNT protocol has demonstrated some encouraging results in an open label study (n=21) and a randomized double-blinded sham-controlled trial (active n=14, sham n=15) for TRD.
All studies have been conducted using one specific TMS device; how this will compare with responses utilizing other devices is unknown. While these studies have demonstrated positive early effects, durability has not yet been demonstrated equal to current FDA-cleared protocols.
In summary, TMS practitioners should be aware of the efficacy and durability of SNT and SNT-like accelerated off-label protocols. As with all non FDA-cleared protocols, TMS practitioners should inform patients of the off-label status of the protocol as well as the above limitations.
For more information on the Clinical TMS Society please call (845) 392.3238 or visit clinicaltmssociety.org.
Click here to view the full SNT Protocol Statement.