Medtronic announces deep brain stimulation trials

Medtronic has revealed it is to being a “major” clinical trial of its deep brain stimulation (DBS) technology, developed to tackle intractable depression and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). The plans, announced at a meeting of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, came after the presentation of encouraging clinical data for the use of DBS on patients where conventional psychiatric therapies had failed.

The FDA has already approved the use of DBS for movement disorders such as Parkinson’s disease and dystonia.

Dr Ali Rezai, a Cleveland Clinic neurosurgeon who heads a group which has been studying the effects of the technology, said: “While not a cure, DBS has allowed these patients to return to much more functional and happy lives.”

He added: “These encouraging results will likely lead to further use of DBS in patients with both OCD and depression.”

Last year, a University of Toronto study found a tiny part of the brain called the subgenual cingulate region to be metabolically overactive in people suffering from depression, and that four out of six patients found their depression easing with DBS. The paper described the effects as instilling a “sudden calmness or likeness” or “disappearance of the void”. It added that removal of DBS created an instant reversal back to a depressed state.

In 2000 the economic cost of depression was nine billion pounds, according to the British Journal of Psychiatry. ?370 billion of this was in the form of direct treatment, the rest being the result of time taken off work and loss of earnings caused by the illness.

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