Vagus Nerve Stimulator: Mood Machine, Too Good To Be True?

Filed in archive News , Treatment on March 23, 2006

There is a novel treatment available for adults with severe depression who aren't relieved by drugs, psychotherapy and shock treatments, called "the pacemaker of the brain", the vagus nerve stimulator (VNS) which has been approved eight months ago by the USFDA.

Cybetronics of Houston is the manufacturer of VNS which is being implanted in the patient'c chest to activate parts of the brain costing $25,000 per operation.

More than 3,700 psychiatrists, including doctors affiliated with Suburban, Georgetown, Sheppard Pratt and Howard University hospitals, have been trained in the use of VNS, the first device ever approved to treat depression. It consists of a battery-operated Generator attached to an electrode implanted in the vagus nerve in the neck. The generator emits regular pulses of electricity that are supposed to stimulate serotonin and other brain chemicals believed to regulate mood, according to Cyberonics.

However, despite the FDA approval and the company's aggressive marketing campaign, the effectivity of VNS is still being questioned.

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