'Brain pacemaker' could ease depression
Last updated 11/5/2009 2:14:19 PM
Two of the largest and longest studies so far show a so-called brain pacemaker can effectively treat depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Devices implanted in the chest, with leads that send electrical impulses to parts of the brain, have already been approved to treat movement disorders, such as Parkinson's disease, essential tremor and dystonia.
Dr. Ali Rezai, head of neurosurgery at the Cleveland Clinic in America, which led the studies, said the technique known as deep brain stimulation helped the most severely depressed patients improve significantly.
Seventeen patients, diagnosed as having major depressive disorder, were followed for a year and demonstrated overall improvement in mood as well as social and occupational functioning.
"These were severely depressed patients, the most depressed," Dr Rezai explained. Patients included in the study had been depressed for at least five years, and were unresponsive to drug treatment or electric shock therapy, he said.