Answer Addiction

Tag: Deep Brain Stimulation

  • Can A Brain Chip Curb Opioid Addiction?

    Can A Brain Chip Curb Opioid Addiction?

    The first participant to receive the implant in the trial has battled treatment-resistant opioid and benzo addiction for over a decade. 

    There’s been a number of technological advances in addiction medicine over the past decade. Recovery-based apps, neurofeedback therapy and even virtual reality have ushered in a slew of treatment options for addiction.

    Now, researchers at the West Virginia University Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute and West Virginia University Medicine are conducting the first US clinical trial for a deep brain stimulation device that will target areas in the brain linked to addiction and self-control. 

    According to TechCrunch, the deep brain stimulation device will “monitor cravings in real time,” giving researchers critical insight into how addiction works in the brain. 

    West Virginia In Crisis

    The West Virginia-based organizations announced the launch of the clinical trial on Tuesday, November 5. The state, which leads the country in fatal overdose deaths, has been hit particularly hard by the opioid epidemic. 

    “Our team at the RNI is working hard to find solutions to help those affected by addiction,” Dr. Ali Rezai of the Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute explained. “Addiction is a brain disease involving the reward centers in the brain, and we need to explore new technologies, such as the use of DBS, to help those severely impacted by opioid use disorder.” 

    The trial is a small one consisting of four participants with treatment-resistant opioid addiction. Prior to this trial, the DBS device had only been tested on mice with promising results.

    Deep brain stimulation is used to treat chronic pain, Parkinson’s disease, treatment-resistant depression and obseessive compulsive disorder. According to the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, (AANS) around 35,000 people have DBS implants. 

    “Despite our best efforts using current, evidence-based treatment modalities, there exist a number of patients who simply don’t respond. Some of these patients remain at very high risk for ongoing catastrophic health problems and even death. DBS could prove to be a valuable tool in our fight to keep people alive and well,” said Dr. James Berry.

    The first patient to receive the Medtronic DBS device in the trial was a 33-year-old man who has been battling treatment-resistant opioid and benzo addiction for over a decade. 

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Can Deep Brain Stimulation Help Treat Psychiatric Disorders?

    Can Deep Brain Stimulation Help Treat Psychiatric Disorders?

    Scientists have been experimenting with whether deep brain stimulation could help those with depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder.

    Certain neurological and psychiatric disorders may be rooted in dysfunctional circuits in the brain — and some studying the area think deep brain stimulation (DBS) may be one way of treating such disorders. 

    The idea, according to NPR, is that it may be possible to pinpoint such circuits and manipulate them to be functional by sending electric pulses to exact regions in the brain. These regions are reached by placing an electrode in the brain, which is then controlled with an implanted device, usually in the collarbone region. Once placed, the frequency of the electric pulses can be controlled by doctors. 

    “Modify the circuit, and you can modify the behavior,” James Giordano, neuroethicist and chief of the Neuroethics Studies Program at Georgetown University Medical Center, tells NPR. “The goal is to use DBS to modify the circuits in such a way as to improve symptoms in a very specific and precise way.”

    While this method has potential to treat a number of conditions, the Food and Drug Administration has only approved it for a select few, including movement disorders (like effects of Parkinson’s disease) and a type of epilepsy that does not respond to other treatment methods.  

    According to NPR, scientists worldwide have been experimenting with whether deep brain stimulation could help those with diagnoses such as depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Scientists have also tried to use DBS to treat drug cravings. 

    However, clinical study results haven’t been clearcut, as some patients claim DBS has helped, while others have seen no improvement or felt worse. 

    According to Giordano, DBS differs from antidepressants because it can be more fine-tuned and tailored to each individual. 

    “A drug like Prozac or antidepressant drugs is basically like throwing water on your face to get a drink of water,” he told NPR. “Using something like deep brain stimulation is like putting a drop of water on your tongue. We can increase the specificity and precision … and, in many ways, the precision and specificity of deep brain stimulation makes it a more effective tool.”

    When it comes to the procedure of placing a device in the brain, Giordano says there are of course the normal risks of neurosurgery, such as infection. Though rare, he adds, there are also some risks specific to the procedure. 

    “By stimulating Area X, it’s possible that we could get a spillover effect that modulates other things ancillary to that, like personality, temperament, character, personal preferences,” he explained. “There have been case reports and anecdotal reports of things like that happening, but they’re rare.”

    As with any new procedure and technology, Giordano acknowledges that learning the ins and outs of deep brain stimulation won’t always be smooth sailing. However, he says, the capabilities of deep brain stimulation are worth continuing to explore. 

    “Mistakes will get made” he said. “Hopefully, we’ll be bright enough to correct them and recognize them when they occur not only in terms of the technological and scientific mistakes but ethical, moral, legal mistakes. In many ways, this represents something of a brave new world of capability. And I think that we have to be very, very sentinel to what the potential of this could yield.”

    View the original article at thefix.com