Posted by Lydia on April 2, 2005, at 14:12:22
In reply to Re: Vagus Nerve Stimulation Anyone?, posted by WeeWilly on April 2, 2005, at 12:49:04
I found this article the other day on Medscape, but I can't seem to get a link to work, so here it is, copied and pasted:
"Vagal Nerve Stimulation Can Work for Refractory Anxiety"
May 29, 2003 (Santa Cruz, California) — A small series of patients with encouraging response to vagal nerve stimulation highlights the promise this technique holds for anxiety conditions that resist other forms of treatment. Seven of 10 patients improved after the treatment, as measured six months after a 10-week trial, which was presented last week at the 156th annual meeting of the American Psychiatric Association in San Francisco.
Participants in the open trial were four men and six women. Seven patients had obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), one had panic disorder, and three had posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Response was defined as more than 50% improvement on the Hamilton Anxiety Scale for all patients, and, for the OCD patients, more than a 25% improvement on the Yale-Brown OC scale.
Mean duration of illness was 10 years. On average, the patients had tried 18 different medications for their problems. Use of medication continued through the trial.
Mark Pollack, MD, a study investigator, told Medscape in an interview that "these were seriously ill patients, to get any response is hopeful." Dr. Pollack, associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard School of Medicine in Cambridge, Massachusetts, said the findings "are potentially interesting [but] we need more experience with it before it's widely used in the anxiety disorders."
Philip Muskin, MD, professor of clinical psychiatry at Columbia University in New York City, commented for Medscape that, while the stimulation is "an interesting therapeutic avenue," it is not "first-, second-, or even third-line treatment" at this point.
These early findings do point the way to further research with vagal nerve stimulation, Dr. Muskin said, adding, "Trial and error in the research will hopefully reveal the correct pattern of electrical stimulation that will yield therapeutic results."
"It may take a decade but I think it will probably succeed," Dr. Muskin said.
He noted that vagal nerve stimulation "may stimulate the brain to achieve an anti-anxiety effect in ways similar to breathing exercises such as those used in yogic breathing." Dr. Muskin presented data on yogic breathing at the APA meeting.
Vagus nerve stimulation is approved for use in refractory partial onset seizures. It also shows promise in depression.
The study was funded by Cyberonics.
APA 156th Annual Meeting: Abstract NR768. Presented May 22, 2003.
Reviewed by Gary D. Vogin, MD
Roberta Friedman, PhD, is a freelance writer for Medscape.
poster:Lydia
thread:478884
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20050330/msgs/478989.html