Many patients suffering from depression face a complex reality for them and are required to take medication on a daily basis to continue their daily routine.
However, according to studies, it was found that over 30% of these patients do not respond to medication or any other accepted treatment with severe damage to their function, their quality of life and a significant increase in the risk of suicide.
Now and for the first time at the Rambam Medical College, an operation was performed to implant a vagal pacemaker – VNS – which stands for Vagus Nerve Stimulation – treatment by stimulating the left vagus nerve in the neck area.
Dr Lior Lev-Tov Photograph of Rambam spokesmen
This nerve is one of the main means of communication between the body and the brain, and by creating electrical pulses that are transmitted from the pacemaker directly to the nerve by tiny electrodes, there is an inspiration of electrical activity, which creates changes in the connectivity between different areas and helps significantly reduce the symptoms of depression. It should be noted that VNS It is widely accepted as a treatment for those suffering from resistant epilepsy.
The one who performed the action is Dr. Lior Lev-Tova senior doctor in the Department of Neurosurgery, who recently returned from a 3-year clinical and research internship at Stanford in the USA, with the experience he gained in the field with the innovative tools borrowed in part from the world of epilepsy.
With this research understanding, Dr. Lev-Tov came to the operating table recently, where he implanted an advanced and innovative pacemaker of the VNS type in a patient, who for a long time did not respond to the conventional psychiatric treatment lines and had to deal with difficult and complex depression symptoms for her, and this after several attempts suicidal:
“This is an innovative treatment that we performed for the first time at Rambam,” he says, “this is an effective treatment with a high safety profile and recognized in the Western world, which allows us to regain control of the patient’s life, alongside improving the quality of life with a clear rehabilitation profile.
“It is important to understand that this type of treatment allows for a growing and lasting effect over time. Although the results are not immediate, the suffering that the patient has had to deal with until today without any choice, decreases significantly and gradually restores her quality of life.
“From our point of view, this is a holiday, as it allows all residents of northern Israel to receive advanced treatments for psychiatric patients, to deal with incurable diseases with a large rehabilitation profile.
“It is important to understand that these are patients who have suffered until today. Today we at Rambam can make available to them the most advanced tools in the world to restore to them the quality of life they have lost until today.”