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Deep brain stimulation and postoperative suicidality among treatment resistant depression patients: should eligibility protocols exclude patients with a history of suicide attempts and anger/impulsivity?

journal contribution
posted on 2023-05-17, 13:40 authored by Frederic GilbertFrederic Gilbert
Recently, there has been a surge of interest in using Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) to treat patients suffering from Treatment Resistance Depression (TRD). While DBS has been regarded as an efficient and safe treatment for many conditions over the last 20 years, and although DBS research trials involving TRD patients show encouraging evidence of remission, recent DBS TRD follow-up studies have reported significant rates of postoperative suicidal ideation, as well as suicide attempts and deaths. Given the vulnerable nature of TRD patients with respect to suicide, if the postoperative DBS adjustment process contributes to an increased risk of suicidality among them, then there is a pressing need to investigate this problem. Based on current clinical trial follow-up data, does the suicidality risk-versusremission benefit ratio favor the use of DBS in TRD patients? The purpose of this article is to examine whether adjusting enrollment criteria, such as excluding TRD patients with a history of suicide attempts or anger/impulsivity, could diminish DBS trial research suicidality, given the absence of uniformity in DBS trial eligibility protocols.

History

Publication title

AJOB Neuroscience Journal

Volume

4

Pagination

28-35

ISSN

2150-7740

Publisher

Taylor & Francis Inc.

Place of publication

USA

Rights statement

Copyright 2012 Taylor and Francis.

Repository Status

  • Restricted

Socio-economic Objectives

Expanding knowledge in philosophy and religious studies