Psychology hasn't always been a field full of moral treatments for patients with depression. Many horrible tests as well as treatments have been done in the thought to help patients with mental disorders. In the early 1930's operations such as lobotomies and electoroconvulsive therapy (ECT) were used to help patients with psychotic behavior. The patients would be electrocuted using ECT until falling unconscious momentarily, then an icepick would be delivered through the nose and eye lids to "scramble" the brain. Fortunately, with the production of the first anti-psychotic medication, the use of lobotomies were no longer performed by the mid 1950's. Today ECT is only used in extreme cases and has progressed significantly compared to the more violent treatments, such as rendering the patient unconscious. Scientists however have taken a new approach to this outdated therapy and put on the table a considerable treatment for depression.
Depression affects 15-17% of the US population and in some cases goes untreated. A significant number of people who do undergo treatment however do not always benefit from the treatments they receive from psychiatrists and the medicine they prescribe, making it an epidemic in the adult population. Finding an option for these treatment-resistent patients is a question longed to be answered.
Researchers from the University of New South Wales tested 64 participants treatment-resistent patients to under go a new, less powerful form of electro therapy called transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS). The participants had electrodes placed on numerous parts of the scalp for twenty minutes, with nothing to feel but a slight tingling sensation under the electrodes. About 30 of the participants reported significant improvement with their depression symptoms. Another study in Brazil recorded similar data with their 120 person population test. Most of the participants stated there were very minimal side effects after treatment; just some slight redness and irritation from where the electrodes were placed.
I for one have never been an advocate for anti-depressant medications. Pharmaceutical companies release new drugs each year and most have too many side-effects that can do more harm than good. It's great to see another option for those who suffer from depression than a pill. Although this treatment has had promising results for those who are able to meet at the centers where this is available, its practicality gets called into question. What sounds more realistic? Taking a pill each day at your convenience or driving to the center each day to undergo treatment to help with your depression symptoms?
Although this treatment is a door that may lead to advances on electrical stimulation as a cure for many diseases, it does not lead to a cure for everyone. This type of stimulation would be most beneficial to those who are placed in a psychiatric hospital or those who suffer severely from other mental disorders and were placed under special supervision. If researchers could design an universal way for the treatment to be administered tDCS could be used at home and with more convenience to those who need it.
Works Cited:
Matta, C. (2013). Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation: A New Electrical Treatment for Depression?. Psych Central. Retrieved on February 10, 2013, from http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2013/02/06/transcranial-direct-current-stimulation-a-new-electrical-treatment-for-depression/
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