DBS Offers Definite Relief from Depression, Say Canadian Researchers

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) does offer relief from depression, say Canadian researchers.

In DBS electrical impulses are sent through electrodes that are implanted in the section of the brain called the subcallosal cingulate gyrus. The technique targets tough cases. After a year of study, researchers at Toronto Western Hospital found it beneficial in 60 per cent of patients.

Depression - Types, Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis, Treatment
Depression is one of the most common mental disorders affecting approximately 340 million people in the world. No one is immune from depression - it occurs in people of all social classes, all countries and all cultural settings.

The therapy appears to change the metabolic activity of what's known as the depression circuit. This means that, in effect, the brain is rewired, altering the cycle of depression.

In the study, researchers found that one month after surgery, 35 per cent of patients responded well to the therapy, with 10 per cent of patients entering remission. Six months after surgery, 60 per cent of patients responded well to the surgery and 35 per cent were in remission.

These patients, who suffered from major depressant disorder, a severe form of depression that is unresponsive to other treatments, were able to reduce their medication as symptoms improved.

Brain Depression
Interactive section of Medindia provides information about chemistry of Brain depression

"Our research confirmed that 60 per cent of patients have shown a clinically significant response to the surgery and the benefits were sustained for at least one year," said Dr. Andres Lozano, neurosurgeon at Krembil Neurosciences Centre, Toronto Western Hospital, in a press release.

The researchers say the procedure is safe, with few serious side-effects reported and no patients suffering long-term harm from the procedure. The side-effects reported included wound infection and removal of hardware, one case of a seizure following surgery, two cases of worsening mood or irritability, four cases of headache after surgery and one case of pain at the operative site.

Treatment Resistant Major Depression Could Be Helped by Deep Brain Stimulation
A long-term outcome study by researchers from the Cleveland Clinic, Brown University, and Massachusetts General Hospital, based on previous promising research has now shown that deep

"The procedure is well tolerated and no patient suffered a permanent serious adverse effect," said Lozano. "In contrast to previously utilized ablative neurosurgical procedures for depression, DBS is adjustable and stimulation is reversible.

"These features increase safety and may offer advantages for both the efficacy of the therapy and its acceptance in the patient, medical, and psychiatric community."

'Deep Brain Stimulation' may Be Effective in Psychiatric Conditions
After being approved for Parkinson's disease, a treatment called Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) is now showing some promise to benefit people suffering from some psychiatric conditions too.

Depression affects one in 50 Canadians at any moment in time, one in 20 in the course of a year and one in 10 in over a lifetime, according to Statistics Canada.

The results are published Monday in the journal Biological Psychiatry.

Source-Medindia
GPL/M