When sticking a fork in the toaster just isn't enough
Posted by:: HellPope Huey
Date: Thu, 03 Mar 2005 02:55:29 GMT
--------
Now I know what I want for Christmas.
Implanted Electrodes Combat Depression
By Amanda Gardner
HealthDay Reporter
TUESDAY, March 1 (HealthDay News) -- A procedure that involves drilling
two holes into a person's skull and then implanting electrodes in the
brain has shown promise in treating individuals who are severely
depressed and resistant to other types of treatment.
Four of six patients who received this deep brain stimulation showed
sustained improvement six months after the procedure took place,
scientists report in the March 3 issue of Neuron.
The patients have now been followed for a year and are still in
remission, added co-lead investigator Dr. Andres Lozano, a professor of
neurosurgery at the University of Toronto.
Although deep brain stimulation to other parts of the brain has been
used to treat epilepsy, Parkinson's and other diseases, this appears to
be the first time it has been used to treat major depression, Lozano
said.
About 20 percent of people with depression fail to respond to standard
treatments. Some of these people will respond to combinations of
medications plus electroconvulsive therapy, sometimes known as shock
therapy. A remaining few, however, still do not get better.
The new therapy is far more refined than electroconvulsive therapy,
Lozano said. "Electroconvulsive therapy is analogous to rebooting your
computer," he explained. "This [deep brain stimulation] is very
pinpointed, precise therapy, involving a very precise area of brain that
plays a key role in depression."
For the past four or five years, there have been hints that this area of
the brain, the subgenual cingulate region, or Cg25 region, played a role
in depression. "When people are acutely sad, this area of the brain
becomes active," Lozano said. "If you take antidepressants, the activity
in this area goes down."
This information led to the hypothesis that diminishing activity in that
area might improve depression. "It was as if the thermostat was set for
120 degrees and you want it to be 70 degrees," Lozano explained. "This
area of the brain is running in overdrive, and it is causing depression
and also interfering with the function of areas of the brain that are
involved in cognitive function."
The new study involved six patients, median age 46, who had failed to
respond to a minimum of four other treatments for depression, including
medications, psychotherapy and/or electroconvulsive therapy. The
participants were recruited from across Ontario and the deep brain
stimulation procedures were performed at Toronto Western Hospital, which
is affiliated with the University of Toronto.
The researchers first pinpointed the precise area of the brain in
question using positron emission tomography (PET) scans. Then Lozano
drilled two small holes into each side of the skull in a two-hour
procedure that took place under local anesthesia. He inserted two thin
wires with electrode contacts, then tunneled the wires (about the
diameter of uncooked spaghetti) underneath the skin behind the ear down
to the chest. An incision was made under the collarbone so a battery
could be placed there. The electrodes were hooked up to the batteries
(one on each side of the body). The batteries can be programmed remotely
through the skin, and there is no restriction on activities, Lozano
said. The batteries last for five years.
Stimulation, which is adjusted individually for each patient, takes
place 24 hours a day. "We think it's going to require ongoing
stimulation," said Lozano. When stimulation was turned off in one
participant, the depression returned within two weeks.
In all, Lozano and his co-authors saw a "striking benefit" in four of
the six patients. The other two were removed from the study after six
months because they failed to improve. It's not clear why four patients
improved, while the other two did not, although the individuals who did
improve all had depression that began in their late teens and early 20s.
"It's one spot of the brain that is really acting as a terrorist and
subjugating very widespread areas of the brain and interfering with
their function," Lozano said. "If one can seek out this area and tell it
to behave in a more normal fashion, then the rest of the brain follows."
The four people also showed improvements in concentration and
motivation, he said.
Lozano stressed that this research was "early, early" and that
additional studies needed to be performed. "We don't know if this will
be reproducible and sustained," he said. Researchers also don't know if
the results can be generalized to all depression.
"It's only six people, so it's nothing to be too excited about, yet
these patients really are the most refractory, and many of them had not
been out of the house for several years," Lozano said. "Now they're
talking about going to work, going to the gym, starting a business. It's
really been a transformative experience for some of them."
--
HellPope Huey
Yeah, verily, I say unto you,
stomp ye not the flaming fudge bag,
keepeth thy shoes pure.
Humor has as big a fist as any other form
or maybe bigger.
~ James Thurber
"It looks like Bob knows something
the other team doesn't!"
- Enzyte commercial
Posted by:: brthrn@dangermedia.org
Date: 2 Mar 2005 19:18:18 -0800
--------
Yet a reasonably intelligent loser would have realized the easier thing
to do would be to BLOW A GODDAMN HOLE RIGHT THROUGH YOU UGLY BALD ASS
HEAD.
Too bad you're not that sort of loser.
Posted by:: "ouroboros rex"
Date: Thu, 3 Mar 2005 13:17:07 -0600
--------
wrote in message
news:1109819898.651389.83690@l41g2000cwc.googlegroups.com...
> Yet a reasonably intelligent loser would have realized the easier thing
> to do would be to BLOW A GODDAMN HOLE RIGHT THROUGH YOU UGLY BALD ASS
> HEAD.
>
> Too bad you're not that sort of loser.
>
Sterno?
Posted by:: brthrn@dangermedia.org
Date: 3 Mar 2005 11:22:41 -0800
--------
GODDAMN ME GODAMMIT!
ISN'T IT GODDAMN OBVIOUS BY GODDAMN NOW!
suckerbet
Posted by:: "frater S.O.D.D.I."
Date: 2 Mar 2005 19:54:38 -0800
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HellPope Huey wrote:
> Now I know what I want for Christmas.
>
>
> Implanted Electrodes Combat Depression
>
> By Amanda Gardner
> HealthDay Reporter
>
> TUESDAY, March 1 (HealthDay News) -- A procedure that involves
drilling
> two holes into a person's skull and then implanting electrodes in the
> brain has shown promise in treating individuals who are severely
> depressed and resistant to other types of treatment.
>
Wait 'til people learn how to control the voltages that hit their
neurotransmitters. Then they can sit around at home all day and wank
their brains.
With ELECTRICITY.
"Bite your teeth into the ass of life!"
Ian Holm, "Big Night"
"That's what I like... little things... HITTING each other!"
Ian Holm, "Time Bandits"
Posted by:: HellPope Huey
Date: Thu, 03 Mar 2005 05:11:03 GMT
--------
In article <1109822078.528352.90760@l41g2000cwc.googlegroups.com>,
"frater S.O.D.D.I." wrote:
> HellPope Huey wrote:
> > Now I know what I want for Christmas.
> >
> > Implanted Electrodes Combat Depression
> > By Amanda Gardner
> > HealthDay Reporter
> > TUESDAY, March 1 (HealthDay News) -- A procedure that involves
> drilling two holes into a person's skull and then implanting electrodes in the
> > > brain has shown promise in treating individuals who are severely
> > depressed and resistant to other types of treatment.
> >
>> Wait 'til people learn how to control the voltages that hit their
> neurotransmitters. Then they can sit around at home all day and wank
> their brains. With ELECTRICITY.
Being on Usenet is just one step away from that. Wait until they
release USB 3.0 with the optional ear socket. You'll be able to sign on
to alt.binaries.plumpers and get wood, alt.support.depression and get
human sympathy or alt.flame and get utterly fried to a crisp by complete
sociopathic assholes with stunted genitalia. Oh, won't it be GRAND???
Of course, you'll also be able to sign onto alt.slack and get "Bob,"
but that will be like a mix between alt.flame, alt.binaries.plumpers and
alt.usenet.kooks. DUCK, ITS DOBBS!!!
--
HellPope Huey
Yeah, verily, I say unto you,
stomp ye not the flaming fudge bag,
keepeth thy shoes pure.
Humor has as big a fist as any other form
or maybe bigger.
~ James Thurber
"It looks like Bob knows something
the other team doesn't!"
- Enzyte commercial