TREATMENT OF PATIENTS WITH DEPRESSIVE DISORDER USING DEEP BRAIN STIMULATION: LITERATURE REVIEW

Abstract

Patients with severe depression, refractory to two or more classes of medication, are called resistant depression patients. For these individuals, deep brain stimulation (DBS) has been suggested as a possible alternative based on neurophysiological aspects, taking into account current knowledge about the pathophysiological mechanisms of depression. The aim of this study was to evaluate the benefits of DBS treatment in patients with depression, based on evidence. A search was carried out for published studies on the PubMed and Virtual Health Library platforms using the descriptors "Deep brain stimulation", "depression", "treatment", connected by the Boolean operator "AND". The study included articles published in the last 5 years (2018-2023), with full texts, whose study types were clinical trial and controlled clinical trial. Articles duplicated in the databases and those that did not present approaches compatible with the objectives of this study were excluded, and a total of 12 articles were analyzed after applying the aforementioned criteria. The studies analyzed used validated scales for pre- and post-treatment assessment and showed that the majority of participants responded positively with a low incidence of associated side effects. In addition, subjective criteria pertinent to patients based on clinical evaluation were also taken into account, proposing an improvement in symptoms associated with depression. In conclusion, the studies showed that there is a potential for using DBS as a treatment for resistant depression, but due to the limited number of participants, it is suggested that studies with larger population groups be carried out.