Epilepsy Treatment May Help With Depression

Epilepsy Treatment May Help With Depression, Other Ills

Vagus nerve stimulation, a therapy used to reduce epileptic seizures, may also help people who suffer from severe depression, Alzheimer's disease and chronic migraines, researchers say.

The treatment involves wiring a small device, implanted in a patient's chest, to the vagus nerve in the neck. The device stimulates the nerve for 30 seconds, every five minutes, 24 hours a day. By interrupting electrical impulses in the brain -- the cause of epileptic seizures -- the technique reduces the number and severity of seizures, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports.

Preliminary research suggests the therapy may also help other health conditions. In a recent Swedish study, it improved cognition in 10 Alzheimer's patients. And last year, European Union countries approved vagus nerve stimulation as a treatment for depression.

The new study was presented at the American Epilepsy Society's annual meeting in Seattle.

-- Felicity Stone

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