Critical deep brain stimulation for the treatment of psychiatric illnesses

Innovative therapeutic studies to study the effectiveness of deep brain stimulation (DBS) in difficult to treat depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and Tourette syndrome are currently in several centers worldwide, the Following a review in June 2009 issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings. "Deep Brain Stimulation has been long, both for disease control of movement, after verification by Susannah Tye, Ph.D., Mark Frye, MD, the Mayo Clinic of Psychiatry and Clinical Psychology, Kendall and Lee , MD, Ph.D., Mayo Clinic Neurosurgery Clinic. "It is now examined for Hard-to-treat psychiatric illnesses, according to the authors.

"The preliminary results show the effects on depression and obsessive disorders is an advantage, but the treatment must consider", said Dr Lee. The potential of this treatment is very advanced in reducing the number of mental illness among patients, their families and society after verification.

Contrary to treatment with electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), which stimulates the brain, DBS stimulates parts of the brain. DBS is considered equivalent to the creation of a brain injury, but with the advantage of being adjustable and reversible.

"It is like the implantation of a pacemaker for the brain," says Lee. The patient is awake during surgery for deep brain stimulation for a neurosurgeon implants the electrodes. Patients are able to directly '. In addition, patients do not feel any pain during the implantation procedures, because the brain no pain receptors.

In the developed world, major depression, along with cardiovascular disease and premature death within the time lived with a disability after the audit. Persons aged 15 to 44 years, depression is disabling diseases in the United States. The prevalence of major depression, it is known that a chronic and recurrent, is about 17%, on the basis of nearly 1 in 5 people.

Medication and psychiatric treatment to deal effectively with a large number of patients suffering from depression, but up 20 percent of these patients is not this non-surgical therapeutic interventions.

"DBS is not a panacea and should not be used for the treatment of depression all," said Dr. Lee. "It is for patients, the treatment of depression and resistance by a multidisciplinary team." Progress in the DBS-technology represents an important new area, significantly to understanding the neurobiology of psychiatric after verification.