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A UCLA Health study shows that high-intensity brain stimulation over just five days can significantly reduce symptoms in patients with treatment-resistant depression, matching improvements usually seen with six-week protocols. The findings, published February 25, 2026, suggest a faster, more accessible option for patients who have not responded to conventional treatments.

For people living with depression, antidepressant medications are prescribed, but in some cases, standard treatment is not strong enough. As a result, transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) has become a strong alternative. This non-invasive therapy uses magnetic pulses to activate targeted areas of the brain linked to mood.

Traditionally, TMS requires patients to visit a clinic daily for 6 to 8 weeks, which can be difficult for many to manage. Given these challenges, researchers have explored ways to make treatment more accessible. TMS is widely used for treatment-resistant depression and has shown to reduce symptoms in 60-70% of patients, with 25-35% achieving remission.

Building on these considerations, UCLA Health researchers tested whether TMS could be delivered in five sessions per day for five days.

175 patients with treatment-resistant depression were enrolled in the study. Of those, 135 received the standard protocol of one session per day, five days a week, for six weeks. Another 40 patients underwent the accelerated format of five sessions daily for five consecutive days. Both groups experienced significant reductions in depression symptoms, and there was no statistically significant difference in overall outcomes between the two treatment schedules.

“For patients with treatment-resistant depression, getting to the clinic every weekday for at least six weeks can be a real obstacle,” said study lead author Michael Apostol, a Ph.D. student at the UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior. “What this study suggests is that we may be able to offer those same patients a path to meaningful relief in less than one week by condensing 25 TMS treatments over just five days.”

One of the most noteworthy observations was that patients in the accelerated group showed little progress immediately after completing their five-day course. When researchers checked back two to four weeks later, those individuals demonstrated substantial improvement, with depression scores dropping by an average of 36%.

This means that assessing accelerated TMS results immediately after the five-day period might miss delayed improvement. Some patients who don’t show progress right away may still see significant benefits in the weeks following treatment.

“All patients in this study had not benefited from multiple trials of antidepressant medication, yet they obtained great benefit from the 5×5 treatment. Some patients need to wait a few days or weeks to see benefit, and we encourage them not to give up too quickly if they don’t feel better right away,” said senior author Dr. Andrew Leuchter, distinguished professor and director of the TMS Service of the UCLA Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences. “We are finding that the benefits of 5×5 can be even greater with an extra one-to-days of treatment after two weeks.”