American Lady Emily Hollenbeck is a deep and frequent visitor Depression He likened it to a black hole. In this state, their organs would become so heavy that they could hardly move. She knew that this disease could kill her because her parents had also taken their own lives.
According to the Associated Press, she was even willing to go to extreme lengths to deal with it—experimental therapy. the brain Placing electrodes in
Researchers say the treatment, called deep brain stimulation, or DBS, could eventually help the nearly 3 million Americans like him overcome depression that has developed resistance to other treatments. The device is also effective for neurological disorders such as Parkinson’s and epilepsy, and many doctors and patients hope it will soon become more widely available for depression.
This treatment creates electrical impulses like a ‘pacemaker’ for the patients brain. Recent research is promising with more work in progress.
However, two large studies, which found no benefit of using DBS for depression, temporarily halted this progress, and some scientists continue to express concerns about the technology’s use.
On the other hand, the US Food and Drug Administration has agreed to expedite the review of Abbott Laboratories’ application to use DBS devices for depression.
Speaking about the device, Emily, who participated in the ongoing research at Mount Sinai West, told the AP news agency: ‘At first I was scared because the concept is so intense, like brain surgery. . Your brain is wired. But I also realized that at that point I had tried everything and nothing was working.’
Emily suffered from symptoms of depression as a child growing up in poverty and homelessness, but the first major shock came in college when her father committed suicide due to depression in 2009.
Even after losing her mother in her senior year of grade school, she managed to earn a doctorate in psychology, but something was always eating away at Emily. At times, like his parents, he thought of ending his life.
Emily said she gave up all options, including electroconvulsive therapy, when a doctor told her about DBS three years ago.
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He said: ‘I immediately said yes because nothing else was working.’
She thus became one of the first few hundred people to use DBS for depression.
Emily underwent brain surgery. Dr. Brian Koppel, director of the Mount Sinai Center for Neuromodulation, placed thin metal electrodes in a part of his brain called the subcalosal cingulate cortex, which regulates emotional behavior and feelings of sadness.
The electrodes are connected by an internal wire to a device placed under the skin in their chest that controls the amount of electrical stimulation and delivers continuous low-voltage pulses.
Doctors say the stimulation helps because the electrical waves understand the brain’s language. Neurons make connections using electrical and chemical signals.
In normal people’s brains, electrical activity travels in a similar rhythm throughout the area without interruption, Dr. Koppel said. In depression, these electrical waves become trapped in the brain’s emotional circuits. DBS unblocks the circuit and allows the brain to do its job.
The effect was almost immediate, Emily said.
Emily’s psychiatrist, Dr. Martjen Feige, said that on the first day after surgery, Emily experienced a decrease in negative mood and feelings of heaviness.
He added: ‘I remember Emily telling me that she was able to enjoy Vietnamese cuisine for the first time in years and really taste the food. They started decorating their house, which had been completely empty since moving to New York.’
#brain #pacemaker #rid #depression
2024-08-04 01:58:07
