Brain stimulation therapies involve direct touching or activating of the brain using electricity, implants or magnets to treat depression and other disorders. These stimulation therapies include electroconvulsive therapy, vagus nerve stimulation, magnetic seizure therapy, repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation and deep brain stimulation. Among these, electroconvulsive therapy has the longest history of use and is the most researched stimulation therapy.
Is brain stimulation therapy really effective?
Different brain stimulation therapies offer their own set of advantages and disadvantages. Consider the following treatment measures, their corresponding side effects and potential applications.
Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT)
Developed in 1938, ECT or Electroconvulsive Therapy uses electrodes placed on the head at precise locations. Through these electrodes, electric current passes through the brain, this usually causes seizures that last for one minute.
Advantages
Among the different brain stimulation therapies, electroconvulsive therapy treats a variety of mental disorders including bipolar disorder or schizophrenia and severe treatment-resistant depression. This technique is also used in life-threatening situations like when patients are catatonic or do not respond to the outside world and suicidal or malnourished patients with severe depression. Follow up treatment are effective in reducing chances of relapse among patients with severe major depression. Patients do not feel any pain or discomfort during treatment.
Side Effects
The use of brain stimulation therapies such as ECT is associated with common side effects like headache, muscle aches and upset stomach. Some patients also experience memory problems especially those formed during the time of treatment or weeks after the patient received treatment.
Brain stimulation therapies promise to treat certain mental disorders, which do not respond to conventional treatments.
Vagus Nerve Stimulation
Vagus nerve stimulation or VNS makes use of skin implants that send electrical impulses through the left vagus nerve. Among the brain stimulation therapies, this technique treats epilepsy.
Advantages
Aside from treating epilepsy, US Food and Drug Administration approved its use in 2005 for treating major depression, both severe and recurrent.
Disadvantages
Vagus Nerve Stimulation poses certain risks associated with the implanted device. Sometimes the device malfunctions and requires additional operation to correct. Side effects of therapy include neck pain, voice changes or hoarseness, cough or sore throat and breathing problems during exercise. This mode of therapy also causes discomfort or tingling at the location of the implant and difficulty in swallowing.
Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation
Among the different brain stimulation therapies, this technique uses magnets rather than electric current to activate the brain.
Advantages
FDA granted this mode of brain stimulation therapies approval in 2008 and considered a possible treatment for depression, psychosis and other disorders.
Disadvantages:
During treatment, patient may feel discomfort on muscles of the scalp, jaw or face. Patients also experience a brief period of lightheadedness or headache after treatment. Rare cases of seizures are uncommon but documented.
Magnetic Seizure Therapy
This form of brain stimulation therapies combines features of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation and electroconvulsive therapy. It uses magnetic pulse and targets to induce seizure in patients. This technique produces shorter seizures, less memory side effects, requires shorter recovery time compared to ECT. However, doctors are still trying to determine its effect of treatment-resistant depressions.
Deep Brain Stimulation
Deep Brain Stimulation or DBS produces continuous stimulation of the brain through electrode implants in the brain and controlled by a generator implanted on the chest.
Advantages
It is the first brain stimulation therapy developed and used for Parkinson’s disease. This technique reduces tremors, walking problems, stiffness and uncontrollable movement associated with the disease. It is still undergoing further testing as treatment for severe resistant depression and obsessive-compulsive depression
Disadvantages
This procedure may lead to risks associated with brain surgery and includes unwanted mood changes, infection, lightheadedness, stroke, and troubles in sleeping.
Brain stimulation therapies promise to treat certain mental disorders, which do not respond to conventional treatments. As scientists and health experts strive to perfect each method, patients can only hope that one day, one of these will prove genuinely effective.
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