Deep brain stimulation may help treat people with severe depression.Byline: ANI Washington, Nov 3 (ANI): Patients with severe depression can now be cured, thanks to physicians at the University Clinics of Bonn and Cologne, who have treated ten patients with deep brain stimulation In neurotechnology, deep brain stimulation (DBS) is a surgical treatment involving the implantation of a medical device called a brain pacemaker, which sends electrical impulses to specific parts of the brain. . The method involved implanting electrodes in the patients' nucleus accumbens-a centre in the brain that plays a key role in as the brains reward system, whose function may be impaired in depressive people. After the treatment, depression improved significantly in half of the patients. All patients had suffered from very severe depression for many years and did not respond to any other therapies. The nucleus accumbens The nucleus accumbens (NAcc), also known as the accumbens nucleus or as the nucleus accumbens septi (Latin for nucleus leaning against the septum), is a collection of neurons within the forebrain, located where the head of the caudate and the anterior ensures that we remember good experiences and puts us in a state of pleasant anticipation. Without a reward system we would not forge any plans for the future, as we would not be able to enjoy the fruits of these plans. Inactivity and the inability to experience pleasure are two important signs of depression. A total of ten patients with very severe depression participated in the study. In all patients, symptoms did not improve despite many therapies using psychotherapy or pharmacotherapy pharmacotherapy /phar·ma·co·ther·a·py/ (-ther´ah-pe) treatment of disease with medicines. phar·ma·co·ther·a·py n. Treatment of disease through the use of drugs. . Overall, all participants showed signs of improvement, in half of them symptoms of depression improved significantly. Initial effects could sometimes be seen just after a few days. "Thus, inter alia [Latin, Among other things.] A phrase used in Pleading to designate that a particular statute set out therein is only a part of the statute that is relevant to the facts of the lawsuit and not the entire statute. we observed increasing activity of the patients. This was so successful that some of them were even able to work again, after having been incapacitated in·ca·pac·i·tate tr.v. in·ca·pac·i·tat·ed, in·ca·pac·i·tat·ing, in·ca·pac·i·tates 1. To deprive of strength or ability; disable. 2. To make legally ineligible; disqualify. for many years. None of our patients had ever responded to any other therapy to a comparable extent before," said Professor Thomas E. Schlaepfer from the Bonn Clinic of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy. Five patients' well-being improved considerably and in a sustained fashion. Even after a year, the stimulation of the nucleus accumbens still had the same efficacy as at the beginning of the study. During the study, the scientists also observed distinct anxiety-relieving effects, which had not been observed in studies on deep brain stimulation to date. The results of the study are published in the journal Biological Psychiatry Biological psychiatry, or biopsychiatry is an approach to psychiatry that aims to understand mental disorder in terms of the biological function of the nervous system. . (ANI) Copyright 2009 Asian News International The Asian News International (ANI) agency provides multimedia news to China and 50 bureaus in India. It covers virtually all of South Asia since its foundation and presently claims, on its official website, to be the leading South Asia-wide news agency. (ANI) - All Rights Reserved. Provided by Syndigate.info an Albawaba.com company |
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