Health Highlights: Oct. 21, 2008

Oct. 22 -- Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by editors of HealthDay:

FDA Approves Magnetic Device to Treat Depression

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the first noninvasive brain stimulator to treat depression. It works by beaming magnetic pulses through the skull, triggering small electrical charges that prompt brain cells to fire, the Associated Press reported.

The device, called transcranial magnetic stimulation or TMS, is intended for patients who got no relief from their first antidepressant, offering them a different option than trying an assortment of drugs. It also doesn't pose the risks of surgically implanted electrodes or the treatment of last resort, shock therapy, the news service said.

The FDA cleared the prescription-only NeuroStar based on research that found that patients did modestly better when treated with TMS than when they received a placebo treatment that mimicked the magnet. About 24 percent of patients who received TMS scored significantly better on standard depression measures after six weeks, compared with 12 percent of those who got the placebo, the AP said.

That's about as well as patients respond to a single antidepressant, said Dr. Philip Janicak of Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, who helped lead the NeuroStar study.

TMS isn't cheap, however: It's expected to cost $6,000 to $10,000, depending on how many treatments a patient needs, Janicak said. While that's a lot more than antidepressant therapy, it's thousands of dollars less than invasive depression devices, the AP said.

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Bad Habits Linked to Lower Grades

Bad habits equal bad grades, according to researchers at the University of Minnesota's Boynton Health Service who studied more than 9,000 undergraduates from 14 Minnesota schools.

Low grades were more common among students who lacked sleep, didn't exercise, gambled, watched too much TV, and drank alcohol or smoked cigarettes. Students who suffered stress, asthma, injury or mental illness also had lower grades, the St. Paul Pioneer Press reported.