A major new study has found that transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), which applies magnetic energy to the brain, can be a cost-effective treatment option for the NHS in treating moderate and severe forms of depression that have not responded to other treatments.

The economic analysis, which is published in BMJ Mental Health, compared TMS to usual care in specialist mental health services, and found that TMS reduces depressive symptoms, eases pressures on informal carers and on NHS resources, and helps people get back to work.

TMS represents an investment in care that recovers its costs over time, primarily from savings to the wider health service and from fewer workdays being lost because of long-term depression.

A new landmark study supports the safety of the common painkillers paracetamol and ibuprofen in the first year of life, and finds no link to eczema or bronchiolitis, a common respiratory illness.

Leading US tobacco brands are flouting platform and federal marketing policies designed to restrict young people’s access to their content on the popular social media platform Instagram, indicates research published online in the journal Tobacco Control.