‘Depression’ at Psychology, Philosophy and Real Life, Page 14

The US Food and Drug Administration has approved an electrical brain stimulator which delivers tiny shocks as a treatment for severe depression. A generator the size of a pocket watch is implanted into the chest, and wires snake up the neck to the vagus nerve, delivering tiny electric shocks through that nerve and into a region of the brain thought to play a role in mood.

As a treatment for severe depression, electroconvulsive therapy (electro-shock treatment) has long been considered a last hope — a treatment which works, but which also brings significant side-effects, especially for memory. New research on a less aggressive alternative, transcranial magnetic stimulation, promises similar effectiveness but without memory impairment.

The US Food and Drug Administration has issued new warnings about possible heightened risks of suicide in adults taking antidepressant medications. The warnings follow the FDA’s decision last year to require drug manufacturers to strengthen suicide warnings included on drug labels.

New research suggests that the anti-psychotic medication Seroquel (olanzapine) — can be an effective single-drug treatment for bipolar disorder.

Babies with low birthweights may be at greater risk of suffering symptoms of depression later in life, according to new research published in the British Journal of Psychiatry. Newborns weighing less than 5.5 lbs were 50 percent more likely to have anxiety and depression as adults.