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Related Experiment Videos

VNS and depression: current status and future directions.

Sally P Walsh1, Mitchel A Kling

  • 1Department of Neurology, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC 20057, USA. spw9@georgetown.edu

Expert Review of Medical Devices
|November 19, 2005
PubMed
Summary

Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) shows potential for treating epilepsy and depression. While short-term VNS therapy for treatment-resistant depression yielded no significant improvement over sham treatment, long-term results are pending.

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Area of Science:

  • Neurology
  • Psychiatry
  • Neuron stimulation

Background:

  • Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) is a recognized anticonvulsant for epilepsy.
  • VNS influences brain regions linked to mood disorders, suggesting antidepressant potential.
  • Interest is growing in VNS for non-pharmacological treatment of resistant depression.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the efficacy of VNS in treatment-resistant depression.
  • To explore VNS as a non-pharmacological approach for depression management.

Main Methods:

  • An open-label study treated 59 subjects with VNS for 10 weeks.
  • A controlled double-blind trial compared VNS to sham treatment over 10 weeks.

Main Results:

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  • The open-label study reported a 31% response rate in treatment-resistant depression.
  • The short-term double-blind trial did not show statistically significant improvement over sham treatment.

    • Conclusions:

    • VNS is an established epilepsy treatment with potential antidepressant effects.
    • Further data from the long-term phase of the controlled trial are needed to ascertain VNS efficacy in depression.