Elsevier

Biological Psychiatry

Volume 67, Issue 2, 15 January 2010, Pages e9-e11
Biological Psychiatry

Correspondence
Remission of Major Depression Under Deep Brain Stimulation of the Lateral Habenula in a Therapy-Refractory Patient

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2009.08.027Get rights and content

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Patient and Method

Our female patient with major depressive disorder (DSM-IV) was 64 years old at the time of DBS surgery (July 2008). She suffered from major depressive episodes (MDE) beginning at age 18 without any hypomanic or manic episodes. No additional psychiatric diagnoses were made. At age 55, the first severe depressive episode with psychotic features was described. Appropriate pharmacotherapeutic trials involving antidepressants and augmentation with lithium, valproate, and various antipsychotic

Discussion

The DBS procedure resulted in a sustained full remission of depressive symptoms in a patient who was therapy-resistant to all standard treatments for at least 9 years and suffered from severe major depressive disorder for 46 years. Placebo effects, which are extremely uncommon in this patient population (14), could be further excluded by a severe relapse when stimulation was briefly accidentally discontinued.

We did not observe an acute antidepressive effect of DBS. After switching to high

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