Haims: Pacemakers – not just for the heart. Think movement disorders and depression.
Courtesy photo
The pacemaker is being reinvented. Originally, it was developed to remedy heart rhythm irregularities by use of electrical stimulation. The first pacemaker was implanted 66 years ago, in 1958. About 40 years later, its conceptual design of using electrical stimulation transformed the treatment of Parkinson’s disease, essential tremors, and dystonia (uncontrollable muscle movements) with the development of deep brain stimulation (DBS).
While still in the experimental stage, recent advances in technology and research are showing promise for the use of electrical impulse devices to treat people with severe depression complications.
What is a Pacemaker?
A pacemaker is a tiny battery-operated stimulator device that is used to help moderate irregular heart rhythms. The device produces electrical impulses that help the heart’s chambers not only beat in sync, but also with proper strength to provide enough blood to our body.
The device is most often surgically implanted under the skin through a small incision just under the collarbone. The device connects to the heart via minute wires called leads. At the end of the lead(s) is an electrode (sensor) that delivers electrical impulses to the heart whenever irregular heartbeats ae detected.
Electricity powers our body. From our sense of smell, sight, taste, touch and sound, every experience we have depends on electrical impulses. Our nervous system functions from electronic signals that travel throughout our brain, organs, muscles, and skin. As we learn to decode the electric signals produced within our bodies, we may embark upon new applications of regenerative medicine.
Electronic stimulator devices are going to transform our health and well-being
Our understanding and use of electricity and the various therapies that use electricity, such as electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), has come a long way since the days when shocking the body was used in the field of psychiatry. Jack Nicholson’s portrayal of Randle McMurphy receiving electroshock therapy in “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” no more! We’re now in a whole new and fascinating frontier.
The evolution of electronic stimulator devices is going to transform modern medicine and will have a significant impact on our general health, mental health, brain functioning, and overall biology. As researchers learn more about the brain region that regulates emotional behavior along with brain signals that vary for each of us, new therapies will emerge.
Recent studies of people who suffer from ‘treatment-resistant depression’ (a depression that cannot be remedied with antidepressant or psychological counseling) have found that deep brain stimulation (DBS) may assist in helping people who suffer from the loss of motivations and ability to feel pleasure. The therapy treatment is believed to help people feel more alert and attentive to their environment.
The road to this new treatment was founded on the success of DBS treatments for Parkinson’s patients along with people who suffer from other various movement disorders. Similar to a traditional pacemaker, a DBS device involves a surgical procedure wherein metal electrodes are placed in a specific area of the brain that regulate emotional behavior and feelings of sadness.
This research and technology is not only promising for treatment-resistant depression, but in time, it may address depression in general. According to a recent article from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Helen Mayberg, M.D., director of the Nash Family Center for Advanced Circuit Therapeutics at Icahn Mount Sinai in New York City, stated that in a small study run over a six-month period, “90% showed a significant improvement in depression symptoms, and 70% were in remission or no longer depressed.”
Nationally, mental health is a very real concern. We are in the midst of a serious health crisis and each and every one of us in our mountain communities must take note. We must broaden our approach and actively participate in bettering the well-being of our communities.
Each of us are wired differently and each of us has a different brain. For available therapies to work, we must educate ourselves of all available options. For some, medication and therapy may work. However, for others, new technologies and research may offer promise.
Almost all of us have a supercomputer within reach — our cell phones. Please go online and spend a little time researching, “DBS and depression,” “depression,” “curing depression” or any related phrase. The better educated we are, the more we can help ourselves and others.
Judson Haims is the owner of Visiting Angels Home Care in Eagle County. He is an advocate for our elderly and is available to answer questions.
