The Royal is personalizing the treatment of depression using brain imaging and neuromodulation
Ottawa, June 17, 2024 – In the evolving landscape of mental health, The Royal, with Dr. Sara Tremblay at the forefront, is pursuing innovative therapies that offer a whole new way of looking at mental health treatment. Neuromodulation, in particular repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS), can treat malfunctioning circuits in the brain and effectively treat them in a non-pharmacological, non-invasive way, and with few side effects. Having secured more than $2 million in funding in federal and provincial grants as well as philanthropy, Tremblay’s research focuses on optimizing rTMS treatments for mental health disorders and developing neurobiological predictors of response. She established the Neuromodulation Research Clinic, providing access to rTMS treatment for depression through research. The clinic offers personalized rTMS treatments, leveraging the use of The Royal’s Brain Imaging Centre. Together, Tremblay and her team have successfully treated more than 80 individuals with hard-to-treat depression, boasting significant symptom improvements in about 70% of cases, including full remission in more than half. Because the treatment is not funded by the government in Ontario, Tremblay is creating access to care through research that would be out of reach for many. The Royal’s Neuromodulation research clinic is the only facility in the Ottawa region offering this treatment free of charge – because Research IS Care.
At the same time, Tremblay is sharing her expertise and learnings through interdisciplinary collaboration with clinicians, graduate students, volunteers, and research staff, and working with other IMHR scientists such as Dr. Rébecca Robillard and Dr. Lauri Tuominen to explore how rTMS impacts sleep and how it modulates brain function using positron emission tomography (PET) at The Royal’s Brain Imaging Centre.
The Royal’s Brain Imaging Centre (BIC) is the go-to hub for brain imaging in the Ottawa region. Since opening our doors in 2016, we have conducted over 4,000 scans across 81 research protocols, providing access to 35 different researchers. We have users representing every university and hospital-based research institute in the National Capital Region.
The BIC houses one of only five dual modality PET/MRI scanners in Canada. With this unique piece of equipment largely dedicated to research, researchers can probe brain structure (MRI), connectivity (fMRI), and function (PET) simultaneously. Our PET program functions in close partnership with the Heart Institute Radiochemistry Lab, where our PET nuclear imaging tracers are produced. The BIC provides a host of services to our users to support their imaging research. We are committed to continuing this trajectory, supporting innovative research projects, and maintaining our role as a crucial resource for the scientific community in Ottawa and beyond.
For more information: https://www.theroyal.ca/brainimaging
ABOUT RESEARCH CANADA
Research Canada is a national alliance dedicated to advancing health research & innovation in Canada. Our goal is to ensure that health research funding and health innovation policy remain top national priorities.
FOR INQUIRIES:
Kevin Conquest
Senior Development Manager
kconquest@rc-rc.ca