This series of PET brain scan images provided by Mount Sinai in 2024 shows changes in patient Emily Hollenbeck through the use of deep brain stimulation therapy. The top tier shows the brain in the absence of intervention.
NEW YORK Emily Hollenbeck lived with a recurring depression she likened to a black hole, where gravity felt so strong and her limbs so heavy she could barely move. She knew the illness could kill her. Both her parents had taken their lives.
She was willing to try something extreme: Having electrodes implanted in her brain as part of an experimental therapy.
Researchers say the treatment deep brain stimulation, or DBS could eventually help many of the nearly three million Americans with depression that resists other treatments. It's approved for conditions including Parkinson's disease and epilepsy, and many doctors and patients hope it will become more widely available for depression soon.
The treatment gives patients targeted electrical impulses, much like a pacemaker for the brain. A growing body of research is promising, with more underway - although two large studies that showed no advantage to using DBS for depression temporarily halted progress, and some scientists continue to raise concerns.
Meanwhile, the Food and Drug Administration has agreed to speed up its review of Abbott Laboratories' request to use its DBS devices for treatment-resistant depression.
"At first I was blown away because the concept of it seems so intense.
Like, it's brain surgery. You have wires embedded in your brain," Hollenbeck said. "But I also felt like at that point I tried everything, and I was desperate for an answer."
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Disgraceful behaviour on Parliament Hill
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Dutcher wins second Polaris award
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