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(ON VIDEO) Depression, symptoms and treatment? Depression is an increasingly common illness, which should not be…
Deep brain stimulation is a technique that sends electrical signals to certain areas of the brain. This method can help relieve symptomssymptoms severe resistant depression that does not respond to usual treatments. However, it is difficult to know in advance whether or not this method will work for a given patient. Everyone reacts differently. Additionally, symptoms of depression are subjectively reported by patients themselves. To solve this problem, researchers used a new device that can record the electrical activity of the brain while administering this stimulationstimulation deep in the brain. Their work was published in the journal Nature.
Electrical signals predict response to treatment
The study involved ten people suffering from severe depression resistant to usual treatments. After 24 weeks of treatment with the new device, most participants showed significant improvement, and some even went into remission. The authors used a technique ofartificial intelligenceartificial intelligence to analyze data from participants’ brain electrical activity. They were able to identify specific changes in the brain’s electrical activity that objectively indicated the patient’s depression status. This information could help doctors adjust treatment more precisely for each patient, without waiting for clinical remission.
In addition to this, the researchers discovered that the initial state of the network neuronsneurons of a patient can predict how they will respond to treatment. In addition, video analysis to detect changes in participants’ facial expressions provided additional information on their mental health state. In conclusion, this study shows that objective methods, such as the analysis of the electrical activity of the brain and the analysis of facial expressions, can be very useful in personalizing and improving the management of depression resistant to conventional treatments.
Thanks to a low Electric powerElectric power alternative, Californian researchers were able to relieve the symptoms of patients suffering from major depression. It is a hope to see new treatments emerge, without the side effects of antidepressantsantidepressants.
Article from Marie-Céline RayMarie-Céline Raypublished on March 14, 2019
Depression is a common psychiatric disorder. In France, according to Inserm, one in five people suffer from depression at some point in their life. However, treatments for depression are only effective in 70% of cases. In addition, antidepressant medications often have side effects, hence the interest in finding other solutions to improve patients’ quality of life. In this context, transcranial stimulation brings new hope.
In this clinical testclinical testscientists from theUNC School of Medicine (North Carolina) tested transcranial stimulation at alternating currentalternating current (tACS). This technique uses electrodes attached to the scalpscalp which send a weak alternating electric current. With this method, researchers targeted a particular region and specific brain waves.
Previous work has shown that patients suffering from depression have an imbalance in alpha oscillations: these waves, which are found between 8 and 12 HzHz on theelectroencephalogramelectroencephalogramwould be more active in the cortex frontalfrontal left, which would give rise to a “alpha frontal asymmetry” in depressives. According to the press release from theUNC School of Medicinealpha waves are more frequent when we close the eyeseyeswe dream, meditate or reflect: when the brain is cut off from sensory, visual or auditory stimuli.
The researchers’ idea was therefore to target these waves to resynchronize them with the alpha oscillations of the right frontal cortex, and thus reduce symptoms of depression. To do this, they recruited 32 patients suffering from major depression. Their symptoms were assessed using the “ Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale » (MADRS), which gives a measure of depression.
Reduction of depressive symptoms in 70% of patients
The participants were divided into three groups. In the group placeboplacebo, the patients received a false, brief electrical stimulation, which mimicked the start of a tACS session. In the control group, participants followed a tACS session at 40 Hz, that is to say a frequency which, for scientists, should not act on alpha waves. Finally, the third group had the tACS treatment at 10 Hz targeting alpha waves. The experiment was carried out double-blind.
Each participant followed this treatment for 40 minutes, and for five days in a row. The researchers performed electroencephalograms to detect changes in alpha oscillations. Participants answered questions to test their depressive symptoms immediately after the intervention, then two weeks later, and one month later.
In patients treated with 10 Hz tACS, researchers found a decrease in alpha oscillations in the left frontal cortex, which allowed these waves to be synchronized with those in the right frontal cortex. But there was no significant decrease in depressive symptoms in these patients after one month. In contrast, when symptoms were tested two weeks after the intervention, 70% of patients had a 50% reduction in depressive symptoms, based on MADRS scale measures. Such reductions were not observed in the other two groups.
This pilot study, which appears in the journal Translational Psychiatry, aimed to show that the technique was safe and effective. Flavio Frohlich, the researcher who led this research, had previously worked on clinical trials testing tACS for schizophreniaschizophrenia and chronic pain.
Depression and brain stimulation: a lasting treatment
Article by Claire Peltier published on October 14, 2010
Sustainable treatment of depression is an ongoing challenge for doctors. Transcranial magnetic stimulation appears to be an effective long-term technique against the disease, according to a new study.
Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is not new. This non-invasive treatment method consists of the stimulation of certain areas of the brain specific, thanks to magnetic pulses. For treat depressionthe pulses are specifically induced on the prefrontal cortex left, an area of the brain known to be linked to this disease. This area, which matures later than the right prefrontal cortex, is in fact linked to the feeling and management of positive emotions.
The impulses, of the same intensity as the magnetic fieldmagnetic field created by a machineMagnetic resonance imaging (MRIMRI), cross the brain cavitybrain cavity to activate neurons. Studies have already demonstrated the effectiveness of these treatments on depression, which are also approved by the Food and drug administration (FDAFDA) but very few studies report a real sustainabilitysustainability of the effectiveness of the treatment.
A publication published in the journal Brain Stimulation compensates for this lack. The study carried out by researchers from Rush University Medical Center included 301 patients, randomly treated with a series of real or simulated (placebo) TMS.
Only 10% relapse
The assessment of the patients’ condition was carried out, among other things, using a questionnaire (Hamilton Depression Rating Scale or HAMD) frequently used by scientists to determine the severity of a depression. All of the responses make it possible to assign a score at a given time, a means of precisely assessing the progress of the disease for the same person.
In this case, patients who reduced their score by at least 25% after six weeks of treatment were considered to have benefited from a profound improvement. They were then subjected to a gradual reduction (for 3 weeks) of TMS doses, associated with drug treatment. antidepressant to avoid any relapserelapse. A total of 142 patients entered the transition phase and 121 of them did not relapse during these three weeks.
Among these, who therefore benefited from a very positive response to TMS, 99 agreed to be followed over a further period of 6 months to test the effectiveness of the treatment in the long term. Only a limited number of patients (10%) relapsed during this phase. These results indicate that the effects of TMS are long-lasting in patients who respond well to treatment. Furthermore, the use of TMS for patients whose condition was slightly worsening made it possible to avoid an imminent relapse in 32 out of 38 patients (84%).
TMS is not 100% effective but nevertheless allows long-term improvement in the condition of a majority of patients, if these initial results are confirmed. TMS could therefore be generalized, especially since the risks associated with this treatment seem low.
