Posted by OldSchool on February 4, 2002, at 19:52:14
In reply to Re: New medications, posted by djmmm on February 4, 2002, at 17:16:50
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> * 27% of patients were in remission after one year, increasing from 15% at the end of the acute study;This is a low rate of remission compared to bilateral or bifrontal ECT. The remission rates for severe depression with bilateral ECT are around 80%.
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> * 45% of patients responded to treatment after one year, increasing from 31% at the end of the acute study; andA response is better than nothing, but not good enough. Response and remission are two totally different things. Remission is the goal of depression treatment.
One of the things I like about VNS though is the fact the implant stays in you longterm and the treatment continues daily, for an indefinite period of time. This is the big advantage I can see for VNS over ECT. ECT doesnt last long enough. You have to get the maintenance ECT for long periods to maintain the effect and thats a big pain in the ass. VNS just keeps going and going and from some of the things Ive been reading the response from VNS actually gets better with time. So maybe it will turn out to be a good thing.
However the remission rates published for VNS are not too impressive comparing it to ECT.
Old School
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poster:OldSchool
thread:92834
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020131/msgs/92876.html