DBS deep brain stimulation depression

Interview with the Deep Brain Stimulation team of the Ceveland Clinic.
The team exists of a small group of neurosurgeons, psychiatrists and neurologists.

It is being studied as a treatment of last resort for disorders such as depression, Tourette’s syndrome, obesity, anorexia, stroke recovery, traumatic brain injury, epilepsy, cluster headaches, chronic pain and addiction.

Nice insight into the history of this new treatment.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 1997 approved deep brain stimulation for treatment of Parkinson’s and essential tremor, a much more common disorder that causes trembling. It now also is approved to treat dystonia, a rare movement disorder that involves disabling muscle spasms

One of the fear’s is that tinkering with emotional centers of the brain may alter a person’s personality.

“I think I’ve become less concerned because what I’ve seen is these people returning to how they felt before depression. In other words, we don’t seem to be turning on some kind of happy circuit that overrides their depression,” said Dr. Donald Malone, the psychiatrist who cares for all the patients in the Clinic’s trials.

A nice infographic about deep brain stimulation for them that find this short video from YouTube on top of this post to heavy.

Related posts on this blog:
Deep brain stimulations for Alzheimer
6 Different locations for DBS in depression
Deep Brain Stimulation resolves coma
The switch that lifts depression

Thanks Neuromodulation blog

 

This article on Popsci.com is a compelling story of a depressed patients treated with deep brain stimulation after failing several antidepressants and electroconvulsive therapy.

Besides the story of the patients this article covers a lot of information about DBS and the ongoing trials testing this treatment.

Related articles on this blog:

Deep Brain Stimulation for Depression

Deep Brain Stimulation and Coma