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Depression ResearchSeveral studies are researching different treatments for depression and the impact of chronic depression on a person's health. Additional information about these studies can be obtained from ClinicalTrials.gov: Transcranial magnetic stimulation Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a noninvasive procedure that uses weak electric currents to stimulate nerve cells in the brain, which alters brain functioning in a way similar to electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). The procedure doesn't require surgery or external electrodes and has fewer side effects than ECT. Several studies have shown that TMS shows promise as a noninvasive treatment for depression. Deep brain stimulationDeep brain stimulation uses high frequency stimulation of a specific area of the brain that relays nerve cell messages between the brain's right and left hemispheres. Early research suggests that deep brain stimulation reduces elevated activity in this area of the brain and reverses depressive symptoms in people with treatment-resistant depression (TRD, also called refractory depression). Vagus nerve stimulationThe vagus nerve starts in the brainstem and extends to the abdomen. In 2005, the Food and Drug Administsration (FDA) approved the totally implanted vagus nerve stimulator (VNS) for the long-term treatment of treatment-resistant depression. A pulse generator, similar to a pacemaker, is surgically implanted under the skin of the left chest and an electrical lead (wire) is connected from the generator to the left vagus nerve. A lead sends electrical signals from the battery-powered generator to the vagus nerve, which then sends the signals are to the brain. Holding a magnet over the pulse generator turns off the stimulator.RisperidoneThe antipsychotic drug risperidone (Risperdal) alters the body's levels of the neurotransmitters dopamine and serotonin. Resperidone is FDA approved for mental disorders including bipolar disorder and schizophrenia but not depression. Recent studies indicate that the addition of risperidone reduces depressive symptoms and increases the response to antidepressant therapy in treatment-resistant people.
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