14 DAY TRIAL // German scientists at the Bonn University Medical Center say that implanting patients with brain pacemakers is an effective method of treating individuals with severe depression. The beneficial effects act in the long term as well, they add.
The team already conducted a series of clinical trials, which involved 11 patients and lasted from two to five years. All those involved reported a reduction in the intensity and frequency of depression symptoms of more than 50 percent, PsychCentral reports.
This approach could come in handy for patients with treatment-resistant depression. Standard medication and psychotherapy does nothing for these people, and they continue to experience a low quality of life. Brain pacemakers could help them improve their lives significantly.
“In the case of deep brain stimulation, the clinical improvement continues steadily for many years. Those who initially responded to the deep brain stimulation are still responding to it even today,” Dr. Thomas E. Schläpfer explains.