Deep brain stimulation, or DBS, is in its early experimental
stages; this study, for example, had only 17 subjects. But when
you cut into a person's skull and implant electrodes on either
side of the brain while people are awake, it's probably not that
easy to attract willing Dr. Helen Mayberg, professor of
psychiatry and neurology at Emory University School of Medicine
in Atlanta, and her colleagues, achieved successful remission in
half of the subjects in her latest DBS study after two years of
continuous stimulation. Improvements were also observed in other
study participants. "Optimal Target For DBS For Depression":
image via shockmd.com Dr. Mayberg, who pioneered earlier DBS
studies with Canadian researchers, was among the first to
demonstrate DBS success for patients with depression who were
previously resistent to drug treatments and even shock therapy.
In the current study, her subjects were patients aged 18 to 70
diagnosed with bipolar disorder, or manic depression; they
suffered, unrelieved from dep