Mark Hyman, MD · 2026-01-21 · Mark Hyman (host), Robert Hedaya
Fix the Brain, Change the Mind: Root-Cause Psychiatry w/ Dr. Robert Hedaya
29 research-tied claims examined: 2 contradicted 2 overstated 2 context 13 supported 10 unverified
2 Overstated
Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) outcomes for depression show high relapse rates and lack durability beyond 6 months.
"and the outcomes, although now they're modifying a little bit, but the outcomes they don't they're not durable really after 6 months. It's a high relapse rate, you know" (said at 0:37:20)
The speaker claims that transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) outcomes for depression are not durable past 6 months and feature a high relapse rate. Systematic reviews, meta-analyses, and prospective follow-up studies demonstrate that acute TMS treatment response is durable beyond 6 months, though durability varies based on maintenance regimens and patient characteristics. A meta-analysis by Senova et al. (2019) found that 52.9% of responders sustained response at 6 months and 46.3% sustained response at 12 months after induction. In naturalistic studies with pragmatic maintenance protocols or retreatment access (Dunner et al., 2014; Janicak et al., 2010), 62.5% of responders maintained response through 12 months, and relapse rates under protocol-specified continuation monotherapy over 6 months were as low as 10-13%. Because TMS benefits persist for a significant proportion of patients past 6 months and relapse rates are moderate rather than uniformly high (especially when combined with continuation strategies), claiming a general lack of durability past 6 months overstates the clinical evidence.
- contradicts: Durability of clinical benefit with transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) in the treatme… (Brain stimulation 2010) · cited 169x in the literature
"Ten of 99 (10%; Kaplan-Meier survival estimate = 12.9%) patients relapsed... These initial data suggest that the therapeutic effects of TMS are durable and that TMS may be successfully used as an intermittent rescue strategy to preclude impending relapse." (abstract, results/conclusions)
pubmedfull study (doi) - contradicts: A multisite, naturalistic, observational study of transcranial magnetic stimulation for pa… (The Journal of clinical psychiatry 2014) · cited 142x in the literature
"Among 120 patients who met IDS-SR response or remission criteria at the end of acute treatment, 75 (62.5%) continued to meet response criteria throughout long-term follow-up... TMS demonstrates a statistically and clinically meaningful durability of acute benefit over 12 months of follow-up." (abstract, results/conclusions)
pubmedfull study (doi) - contradicts: Durability of antidepressant response to repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation: Sys… (Brain stimulation 2019) · cited 116x in the literature
"Among initial responders, 66.5% sustained response at m3 (95% CI = 57.1-74.8%, I 2 = 27.6%), 52.9% at m6 (95% CI = 40.3-65%, I 2 = 0%), and 46.3% at m12 (95% CI = 32.6-60.7%, I 2 = 0%), in the absence of any major bias... rTMS is a durable treatment for depression, with sustained responder rates of 50% up to 1 year after a successful induction course of treatment." (abstract, results/conclusions, passage verified)
pubmedfull study (doi)
Adopting healthy lifestyle habits such as diet, exercise, and proper sleep can reverse diabetes.
"Like if you eat healthy, you exercise, you sleep well, you get— Your diabetes is going to go away, right?" (said at 1:00:32)
Intensive lifestyle interventions—primarily those producing substantial weight loss—can lead to remission of type 2 diabetes, but stating that diabetes will unconditionally 'go away' overstates what the evidence shows. First, this applies strictly to type 2 diabetes and not type 1. Second, international consensus guidelines designate normal glucose levels off pharmacotherapy as 'remission' rather than a permanent cure, as ongoing monitoring is required and relapse is common. Third, remission is not guaranteed; in the landmark randomized Diabetes Remission Clinical Trial (DiRECT), 46% of participants achieved remission at 1 year, 36% sustained it at 2 years, and 13% remained in remission at 5 years, with success strongly dependent on achieving and maintaining large amounts of weight loss (typically >10–15 kg) and having a shorter duration of diabetes.
- partial: Primary care-led weight management for remission of type 2 diabetes (DiRECT): an open-labe… (Lancet (London, England) 2018) · cited 2097x in the literature
"At 12 months, we recorded weight loss of 15 kg or more in 36 (24%) participants in the intervention group and no participants in the control group (p<0·0001). Diabetes remission was achieved in 68 (46%) participants in the intervention group and six (4%) participants in the control group (odds ratio 19·7, 95% CI 7·8-49·8; p<0·0001)." (abstract, results, passage verified)
pubmedfull study (doi) - partial: Durability of a primary care-led weight-management intervention for remission of type 2 di… (The lancet. Diabetes & endocrinology 2019) · cited 967x in the literature
"The DiRECT programme sustained remissions at 24 months for more than a third of people with type 2 diabetes. Sustained remission was linked to the extent of sustained weight loss." (abstract, conclusions, passage verified)
pubmedfull study (doi) - context: Consensus report: Definition and interpretation of remission in type 2 diabetes. (Diabetic medicine : a journal of the British Diabetic Association 2022) · cited 28x in the literature
"This group proposed "remission" as the most appropriate descriptive term, and HbA1c <6.5% (48 mmol/mol) measured at least 3 months after cessation of glucose-lowering pharmacotherapy as the usual diagnostic criterion." (abstract, results, passage verified)
pubmedfull study (doi)
Unverified means no publication matching the claim was located; it does not prove the claim false. Spotted an error? See the corrections policy - disputes from the people quoted are prioritized.