Camden and Islington psychiatrist Dr Mohamed Abdelghani tells Harry Taylor about his work on a cutting-edge treatment for depression.

Psychiatrist Dr Mohamed Abdelghani hopes the international award he’s just won is the first step in his “dream” of making a pioneering depression treatment more widely available.

Camden and Islington NHS Trust’s Dr Abdelghani won the Clinical TMS Society President’s Award 2018 for his work on transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS).

Mohamed, who’s been at the trust for four years, explained: “There are certain areas of the brain that we know are only active during depression.

“We believe these areas often work together, and can be targeted and stimulated.”

The treatment is painless and the patient can stay awake for it, offering a quicker recovery time.

Mohamed said seeing patients progress through the treatment, and seeing some of them improve, is one of the most rewarding parts of his job.

“I get real satisfaction from seeing people recover. They can be suffering from depression for years and we know it doesn’t just affect the patient – it also affects their friends and family.

“Knowing you have an impact on people with depression is brilliant.”

He picked the prize up at the society’s annual meeting in New York in May.

He said: “I felt humbled and honoured, especially as the society has among its ranks many of the pioneers in the field. It has made me feel even more motivated to continue to spread awareness of TMS as an effective and promising treatment for some mental disorders as well as making it more available to suitable patients.”

In Britain TMS is used after two unsuccessful courses of anti-depressants.

Patients then have a daily treatment for four to six weeks.

It can also be used for people where anti-depressants wouldn’t be suitable.

Mohamed moved to Britain in 2005 from Cairo, where he was born, so he could train in the field.

“I only wanted to do psychiatry,” he said, “and, out of the English speaking countries, the training in Britain is the best. I always wanted to live in London too.”

After his training, and time working for a NHS trust in south London, he moved to work for Camden and Islington in 2014, and was pivotal in the treatment being brought to the area.

The trust is the only one in London to offer TMS, and one of three in Britain.