Magnus Medical has announced promising new clinical data on its Stanford accelerated intelligent neuromodulation therapy (SAINT) at the 2024 NYC Neuromodulation Conference (31 July–4 August, New York City, USA). The research was showcased in two poster presentations demonstrating the long-lasting benefits of SAINT treatment and its potential for personalised continuation therapy in people with treatment-resistant depression (TRD).
“We’re excited to share these new findings at this year’s NYC Neuromodulation Conference, which further validate the transformative potential of the SAINT therapy in providing durable relief for people with debilitating intractable depression and offering a pathway for personalised continuation treatment to maintain remission,” said Brandon Bentzley, co-founder and chief scientific officer at Magnus. “The potential life-saving impact is truly inspiring. Furthermore, building on the strength of this compelling research, we are rapidly expanding access to the SAINT neuromodulation system, delivering it to hospitals and private clinics across the [USA].”
The first of two research highlights presented at the conference focused on the durability of clinical benefits with SAINT in TRD via an assessment of sustained remission and response following index treatment. This study, conducted by researchers at Stanford University (Stanford, USA), provides what Magnus notes are the first longer-term data on the durability of SAINT’s antidepressant effect in patients with TRD. The results indicate that a single five-day course of treatment offers substantial and durable clinical benefits, with patients remaining in remission for an average of 11 weeks and in a state of response for an average of 15 weeks.
And, secondly, an open-label pilot trial to assess the feasibility of SAINT as a personalised continuation therapy for depression—led by Magnus with Acacia Clinics—investigated the system’s use in patients who initially responded to an acute course of SAINT treatment. Results here demonstrated that this approach is safe, well-tolerated and highly effective in maintaining remission from depression for 12 months. Granted Breakthrough Device designation and 510(k) clearance by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), SAINT has led to dramatic improvements in people’s symptoms of severe depression in a clinical setting, Magnus claims.
According to the company, SAINT changes a person’s brain circuitry to treat major TRD more effectively by modifying activity in brain networks that are related to depression—and works by leveraging structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans to inform a proprietary algorithm that pinpoints the optimal anatomical target for precise neurostimulation. The innovative treatment is performed on an accelerated, five-day timeline, ensuring that stimulation targeting is meticulously customised to each person’s unique brain connectivity, Magnus also states.
