Scientists Invent Electric Implant to Treat Severe Depression

The first patient is already living a new and happy life.

American scientists have invented an electric implant that can detect and treat severe depression. The device, the size of a box, is placed in the patient's skull and connected to the brain. Details of the experiment are described in Nature Medicine journal.

According to the scientists, encouraging results have already been obtained. The first patient was 36-year-old Sara, who had the device implanted more than a year ago. The woman says it has fundamentally changed her life. 

The implant works continuously, but the impulse is triggered only when the patient needs it. Researchers from the University of California, San Francisco, said it is still too early to say whether the device can help other patients with treatment-resistant depression, but they are hopeful and plan additional clinical trials. 

The First Patient and How the Implant Works

Sara became the first person to receive the experimental therapy. The woman had gone through many unsuccessful treatments, including antidepressants and electroconvulsive therapy. She suffered every day, barely moved and did nothing. 

Implanting the device may sound like a terrible procedure, but the prospect of getting “any relief” is better than the darkness she had experienced. 

Sara
first patient with an electric implant

I had exhausted all possible treatment options. My life was very limited. Every day I suffered incredibly. I barely moved and did nothing. 

During the surgery, small holes were drilled in Sara's skull to attach wires that monitor and stimulate her brain. The implant, with a battery and pulse generator, was placed in the bone under the scalp. 

The operation lasted all day under general anesthesia. After the device was switched on, the woman felt euphoria and said her life had changed for the better. Within a few weeks, her suicidal thoughts disappeared. 

A year has passed since the implant was placed, and the woman has no side effects. Sara said: “The device keeps my depression in check, allows me to return to my best self and rebuild a decent life.” 

The patient does not know when the implant is triggered, but says she “could tell within 15 minutes, because she feels a surge of energy, strength or good mood.” 

Researcher Katherine Scangos said the electric implant technology affects the “depression circuit” in the patient's brain. The device can anticipate when her symptoms are about to become most severe and influence them. 

Katherine Scangos
researcher

We identified the area of the brain whose stimulation eliminates the feeling of depression. We also identified a zone in the brain's amygdala that can predict when depression symptoms become most severe. 

The scientists plan to study the technology in more patients with severe depression to determine whether it can help other people. 

An Individual Approach

Katherine Scangos
researcher

We need to look at how depression circuits work in different patients. We also need to see whether biomarkers or neural connections in the brain change during treatment. We did not know whether we could treat Sara at all, since she was in very poor condition. So in that sense, we are glad. 

Two more patients have already joined the study, but plans call for nine more. The neurosurgeon who implanted the device said this is not a demonstration of the approach's effectiveness. It is only the first look at how it works in one patient. 

Scientists have a lot of work ahead. The results obtained need to be verified to understand whether this approach has a stable effect and whether it can be used during treatment. 

Jonathan Roiser
professor of neuroscience at University College London

Although this highly invasive surgical procedure will be used only for the most severe patients with treatment-resistant symptoms, it is an exciting step forward thanks to the individualized approach to treatment. Since the areas of the brain responsible for symptoms are likely to differ between people, the stimulation sites may also differ. Because there was only one patient, scientists still have to find out whether these promising results will hold up during clinical trials.