According to an article in Newhouse News Service, doctors at The Cleveland Clinic just may have the answer for those whose depression hasn’t responded to conventional therapy.  Brain stimulation surgery or Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) has proven to be effective in treating depression and doctors here have been performing a small clinical trial here at the Cleveland Clinic in order to determine whether the procedure is good for the mainstream depressed population.



With DBS, tiny electrodes are implanted into specific areas of a patient's brain and are connected to pacemakers in the chest.  Stimulation from the electrodes changes abnormal brain activity, relieving symptoms of brain-centered conditions.  Before being tested on patients with depression, the procedure was performed hundreds of times of Parkinson’s patients in an attempt to control shaking and other symptoms of the disease. 

Overall, results show that in a study of nine patients with a severe form of depression, researchers found that mood and the ability to function socially and on the job improved over time. A recent follow-up showed an average reduction of 50 percent on a scale that rates depression. 

Chairman of the clinic, Dr. Ali Rezai, notes that improvements are evident after the surgery, which has also been used to treat those with obsessive-compulsive disorder.  He stresses that while DBS is not a cure, the changes can be life-altering for those plagued with chronic depression.