New Pacemaker-Like Device Offers Hope To Those Living With Treatment-Resistant Depression

Main Category: Depression
Also Included In: Medical Devices / Diagnostics;  Neurology / Neuroscience
Article Date: 19 Jun 2007 - 11:00 PDT

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Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center today announced that James McInerney, M.D., associate professor of neurosurgery, and director of stereotactic and functional neurosurgery, Penn State Hershey Medical Center and Penn State College of Medicine, in collaboration with Elana Farace, Ph.D., neuropsychologist, associate professor of neurosurgery and director of clinical research, received the New Investigator Award for their research in vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) therapy at the New Clinical Drug Evaluation Unit (NCDEU) meeting in Boca Raton, Florida.

VNS therapy is delivered from a small pacemaker-like device implanted in the chest area that sends mild pulses to the brain via the vagus nerve in the neck. A thin, thread-like wire attached to the generator runs under the skin to the left vagus nerve. Stimulation of the left vagus nerve has been shown to induce widespread bilateral effects in areas of the brain implicated in seizures and mood disorders and responsible for modulation of key neurotransmitters such as serotonin and norepinephrine. It is through this mechanism that both mood and cognition show improvement.

Drs. Farace and McInerney's VNS research involved 12 patients with treatment-resistant depression, a form of the disease that does not respond to conventional therapy, including antidepressant medications, talk therapy and electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). All of the patients in the study had suffered from recurrent depression, often involving hospitalization for suicidal thoughts, for over 20 years without relief from any other available treatment. When compared to their baseline function at three and 12 months post-implantation of a vagus nerve stimulator, all of the patients showed statistically significant improvements in mood as well as cognitive abilities, such as memory, attention, and problem solving.

"Producing improvements in mood and cognition, VNS is an exciting new tool physicians should consider for patients with treatment-resistant depression, a terrible and extremely debilitating disease that greatly impacts the lives of millions of people," said Farace. "Patients with treatment-resistant depression rarely experience a prolonged response to any anti-depressant treatment. It is wonderful to see VNS therapy help patients who have tried treatment after treatment for depression without success."

Co-sponsored by the National Institute of Mental Health and the American Society of Clinical Psychopharmacology, the NCDEU Meeting is a scientific conference that brings together academic researchers to address clinical research in psychopharmacology and other novel approaches to treating mental illness. The New Investigators' Award Program is specifically designed for individuals who are new to the field and have made remarkable discoveries within the industry.

"Depression often interferes with normal functioning, and causes pain and suffering not only to those who have the disorder, but also to their family, friends and loved ones," said McInerney. "This research can improve the quality of life for people suffering from depression by helping them maintain some kind of normalcy in their lives."

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Contact: Heather Morgan
Penn State

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