Aspect expects to finish the trial of more than 300 patients this year and is in talks with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) about requirements for regulatory approval. The company eventually aims to market the device to psychiatrists. "Many patients will abandon their medications if they do not feel sufficient improvement in the first few weeks," says Maurizio Fava, a psychiatrist at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, in Boston. "So having a reliable prediction will help patients stay on track." A second device, developed by Neuronetics, could provide an alternative treatment for patients for whom drugs do not work. Known as NeuroStar, the device delivers short magnetic pulses to the part of the brain involved in mood. Delivered via a noninvasive wand attached to the head, the pulses travel through the skull to the cortex, activating brain cells in the target area. "This is the first truly novel outpatient treatment for decades," says Bausinger, chief financial officer at Neuronetics. The company sponsored a 325-person multisite trial of the device, which concluded last year. After six weeks of treatment for several hours a week, about 40 percent of patients reported a reduction in their symptoms of 50 percent or more. Fourteen percent were in remission, meaning they no longer qualified as being depressed, compared with 6 percent of the placebo group. While the remission rate may seem low, psychiatrists say this is a significant improvement for such a difficult to treat population. The study found no cognitive side effects, and the device is now under review by the FDA. Neuronetics also plans to market its device to psychiatrists. The treatment is lengthy: patients in the trial underwent five sessions per week for four to six weeks. "I think people who failed a couple of trials of antidepressants will take the time to do it because they are suffering," says Brent Solvason, a psychiatrist at Stanford University, in California, who led the trial. And it is likely to be more appealing to severely depressed patients than electroconvulsive therapy, which is effective but can trigger memory loss, or vagus nerve stimulation, which requires surgery. Both devices are designed to be easy to use--so easy, in fact, that a nurse or technician, rather than a psychiatrist, might perform the procedure. Perhaps someday, a visit to the psychiatrist's office will resemble a trip to the dentist's or physical therapist's office, where a mental hygienist, rather than a dental hygienist, will work on your brain before the doctor comes in to render his final opinion. |
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Why Ketamine Helps Fight Depression
08/07/2007
Comments
lmichaels on 05/29/2007 at 1:56 PM
3
Depression and Amino Acids: The building blocks of protein, amino acids are crucial source material for the production of important brain neurotransmitters. Imbalances can result in several major dysfunctions of the central nervous system linked to depression.
Depression and Thyroid Function: A substantial portion of patients with depression suffer from thyroid hormone imbalances that may make them more treatment-resistant.
Depression and Allergy: Depression seems to predispose individuals to increased immune hypersensitivity to a wide range of food and environmental allergens.
Depression and Melatonin: Imbalances of the pineal hormone melatonin are linked to Seasonal Affective Disorder and other mood and behavior problems. Disrupted secretion patterns of melatonin can also seriously interfere with sleep, worsening existing symptoms of depression.
Depression and Adrenal Hormones: Overly high levels of the adrenal hormone cortisol often underlie the biochemical pattern characteristic of depression, particularly when stress and obesity are also part of the clinical picture.
Depression and Digestive Function: A faulty digestive process can result in the malabsorption of key nutrients necessary for maintaining healthy mood patterns and overall feeling of well-being. Overgrowth of certain intestinal yeasts such as Candida albicans can also trigger mood swings.
Depression and Toxins and Nutrients: Overexposure to heavy metal toxins like lead and mercury have been clinically shown to induce a psychiatric symptoms such as anxiety and depression. Mineral nutrient imbalances can also cause resistance to treatment.
Depression and Glucose and Insulin Tolerance: Fluctuating blood sugar levels, particularly in diabetic patients, can result in increased depression, tension, and fatigue.
Depression and Fatty Acids: Fatty acid deficiencies could significantly contribute to symptoms of depression, particularly in those at high risk of omega-3 deficiencies, such as alcoholics and post partum women.
Depression and Female Hormones: Female hormone imbalances may help explain why women are much more prone to certain types of depression than men.
If anyone would like additional information, please email me. I am happy to direct you to resources.
Lynn Michaels
lynn@ssri-research.com
amyphilo on 05/29/2007 at 5:36 PM
1
I would not risk my life, my family's safety, or my health by taking these drugs regardless of what some device or a psychiatrist told me. The magnetic thing sounds interesting, I would like to know more about what that does and whether it is harmless or more like electroshock.
All anyone has to do to get an idea of how dangerous the drugs are would be to open a copy of the prescribing info on the web. New black box warnings are added every year.
For those out there suffering from depression I highly encourage you not to try these drugs which will only damage your brain and make you worse in the long run. Why not try homeopathy or chiropractic or nutrition or detoxing from all the poisons in your environment instead of adding more toxins into your body?
www.uniteforlife.org
Thanks Lynn for the info on some of the underlying diseases that get misdiagnosed as "clinical depression."
Silacon on 05/30/2007 at 12:23 AM
37
Karl K. Darot, PhD Intelligent Differential Tensor (IDT) Psychiatry. Tacore Institute Silacon Valley Corporation.
lmichaels on 05/30/2007 at 12:56 AM
3
FDA SSRI Withdrawal - Suicide Warning
http://www.fda.gov/cder/drug/antidepressants/
Eli Lilly Internal Documents
Lilly Knew About Prozac Induced Suicidality [1978-1998]
http://tinyurl.com/2hnmvt
Tricyclics vs SSRIs
'The pooled results [of the studies in a recent FDA review] showed that an older class of antidepressants, known as tricyclics, was actually more effective, belying all the hype about the "revolutionary" new antidepressants [selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, SSRIs].... The most disturbing finding was that more than twice as many depressed adults on new antidepressants kill themselves than those taking placeboes. The difference was 8.4 versus 3.6 suicides per 1,000 patients, a year respectively.' -- JOHN ABRAMSON (family doctor, Harvard Medical School, and author of Overdosed America: The Broken Promise of American Medicine, 2004), "Information Is the Best Medicine," New York Times, 18 September 2004
Lynn Michaels
info@ssri-research.com
rhansing on 06/08/2007 at 12:25 PM
11
hense, we are really talking about dosing. generally, one starts with a low dose and gradually increases to get the right result.
as far as tricylics are concerned, is that it is not uncommon for people to overdose and die of cardiac arrthymias... the ssri, have a very safe overdose value.
the conventional thoughts today of most psychitrists is that ssri treatment involves two steps. The first is the returning energy level, followed later by ameliation of the depression. Since the enery level returns first, this gives the patient enough energy to commit suicide. (At this point he is still severely depressed ) before treatment he did not have the energy to to commit suicide.
This is why very close followup with a professional is a priority in treatment. sadly, insurance companies do not want to pay for this.
multiple research studies have shown that ssri are very safe and effective.
just wanted to clarify the issues. ron hansing md
lmichaels on 06/10/2007 at 12:08 AM
3
The $230 cost for the genetic compatibility test is 'nothing' compared to the ultimate cost to an individual who cannot metabolize the drug - ie: Christopher Pittman, a minor, who was [after the damage] shown to be a non-metabolizer of Zoloft and is now serving a life sentence for killing his grandparents and burning down their house in an SSRI-induced psychotic state.
SSRI's are shown to be extremely dangerous and I have compiled 8000 articles, medical abstracts, legal testimony and documents that substantiate this claim. They are archived at: SSRI-Research [http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ssri-research].
Eli Lilly knew how dangerous Prozac was well before it came on the market and this has been well documented. One such resource in the form of legal testimony by former Lilly scientists can be found at: http://tinyurl.com/2hnmvt
There are also 17,775 Signatures on a Petition against Eli Lilly and Prozac that can be found at:
http://www.petitiononline.com/mod_perl/signed.cgi?lilpro
For a condensed version of the 8000 articles, please go to my research site:
http://ssri-research.com
And, lastly, 80% of prescriptions for SSRIs are written by General Practitioners... they are RARELY prescribed as you describe and, there is RARELY follow up.
$230 for an insurance reimbursable genetic test - actual cost at 80% reimbursement or $46 is a price that no one can afford NOT to pay.
Respectfully,
Lynn Michaels, Researcher
www.ssri-research.com