There is a new blog with the written hands on experience of undergoing deep brain stimulation surgery: Focus on a Cure's Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) Journal This blog is created in the hopes that my experiences will give others inspiration to take a risk and have the courage to face the unknown in order to accomplish the impossible as others have done for me. Stay Focused, Incredible good insight and information about the whole procedure, especially the whole process before deciding to undergo the procedure. One thing I was surprised about that after all my research and all my conversations with other DBS .....read more »

In Deep Brain Stimulation for treatment resistant depression with stimulation of Broadman area 25 (Cg 25) no consistent declines in memory for either verbal or visual material were noted after onset or maintenance of DBS over baseline. This makes DBS a procedure with out apparent cognitive side effects in treatment resistant depression. In a recent publication with DBS in the Subthalamic Nucleus for treatment resistant Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) no cognitive decline was found. The ratings of neuropsychological measures were not modified by stimulation. In 17 patients participating in this 10-month, crossover, double-blind, multicenter study assessing the efficacy and safety .....read more »

Deep brain stimulation has shown promise in the treatment of treatment resistant depression(TRD) in some small series and case reports. The definition of TRD is still a matter of debate. There isn't one clear classification scheme of TRD. TRD shouldn't be mixed up with pseudoresistant depression . The recent research with deep brain stimulation showed some promising results and in the future might add this treatment to the 9 steps for treatment resistant depression. Since this treatment for TRD is in it's infancy The most appropriate target, optimal stimulation parameters, and long-term effects and efficacy remain uncertain. About the targets for .....read more »

CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta reports on new research showing deep brain stimulation may ease severe depression. In a very short video a short introduction to Deep Brain Stimulation with nice animation. It is explained as a pacemaker to the brain. The pacemaker regulates mood circuits, potentially easing deep depression no other treatments can touch. Also about who are candidates for this treatment. Answer: When all else fails. Alas the video is not always available or other technical problems exist. For a more detailed video and article about Deep Brain Stimulation read on globeandmail.com: Mending a broken mind. Thanks Therapeutic Neuromodulation Blog Related posts:New .....read more »

The current study is the largest clinical trial to date of the efficacy of DBS as a treatment for severe depression. Between May 2003 and November 2006, Andrez M. Lozano and his colleagues implanted electrodes into the brains of a total of 20 patients (9 men and 11 women) with major depressive disorder, all of whom were referred to the researchers from hospitals or community psychiatrists, after failing to respond to antidepressants, psychotherapy or electroconvulsive therapy. On Neurophilosophy a post about this new trial with this new treatment for treatment resistant depression. 12 out of the 20 patients reported significant long-term improvements .....read more »

Apart from a transient mild decline in manual motor speed, there seems to be noadverse cognitive effects associated with chronic Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) in Cg25 for Treatment Resistant Depression (TRD) in this sample of 6 patients with a follow-up of 12 months.Another important conclusion from this research:Several areas of cognition that were below average or impaired at baseline improved over follow-up, and these changes were not correlated with improvements in mood.Broadman Area 25 as target for deep brain stimulation in treatment resistant depression. This area in the brain is from the most important publication about DBS and depression in .....read more »

When other treatments fail, deep-brain stimulation (DBS) may offer hope to patients suffering from chronic and severe depression, according to a study presented here at the 76th Annual Meeting of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS).On Doctor's Guide Related posts:New Trial On Deep Brain Stimulation for Treatment Resistant Depression Deep Brain Stimulation for Treatment Resistant depression Cognitive Safety of Deep Brain Stimulation for Treatment Resistant Depression ..read more »