A recent study appearing in the New England Journal of Medicine has demonstrated that deep brain stimulation may benefit people with OCD. Deep brain stimulation allows neurons in the brain to be activated in a very precise manner to reduce symptoms.
In this study, patients first had surgery to implant an electrode in an area of the brain called the subthalamic nucleus. Over the next 10 months half of the patients first received a period of active stimulation followed by a period of placebo stimulation, whereas the other half of patients first received the placebo stimulation first followed by the real stimulation. Neither the doctors nor patients were aware of when they were receiving the real versus placebo stimulation.
Following active stimulation, the majority patients showed a reduction in OCD symptoms as well as an improvement in their overall ability to return to normal family life, engage in new relationships or go back to work. Only a very small number of patients achieved this while receiving the placebo stimulation.
Although this treatment did not work for everyone, the results of this study are a very positive development in the treatment of OCD. Every medical procedure has risks; however, deep brain stimulation does not involve destroying brain regions and is thus reversible. In addition, much like the way your doctor might adjust the dosage of your medication to get the best possible result, deep cerebral stimulation allows for precise adjustment of the various stimulation parameters.
