OUR BLOG

Deep brain stimulation for severe depression

An interesting development has been reported in the New Scientist (NS). They report on a trial of deep brain stimulation as a treatment for severe depression. Now, before you throw your hands up in the air in horror, just read on a bit and all becomes clear.

New Scientist reports on a trial undertaken at the University of Queensland, and that involved 25 people with severe depression. These patients were unable to work, had no social life and many had tried to commit suicide. They had failed to improve on all conventional treatments.

What is deep brain stimulation?

Deep brain stimulation involves inserting micro-thin wires into the brain. The researchers inserted them into an area that is thought to be associated with depression. It’s a surprisingly simple and painless process as curiously the brain has no nerves to feel pain.

How can deep brain stimulation help depression?

The thinking behind the trial was that in depression these brain areas are overactive in sending messages to different areas. These electrodes blocked those messages by transmitting a type of white noise; a sort of “jamming.”

What were the results of the study into deep brain stimulation for depression?

They followed the patients up for six to nine years with a final check in 2019. The results showed that 44% had significantly improved with their depression score reducing by 50% or more. They also experienced a significant improvement in their quality of life. Around 30% partially benefitted with a reduction in their depression score of 25-50%.

This is a very significant improvement for those with the most challenging, essentially life-threatening depression. Further work is needed to confirm this study and then to see if a similar response can be achieved with surface scalp electrodes. If that’s possible this could transform the lives of many.