Vagus Nerve Stimulation (VNS)

Depression is not an easy disorder to deal with, it is chronic and requires a long-term treatment to deal with it. The ailment primarily affects the way a person thinks and behaves. It does not only affects the emotional part of a person's life, but also creates turbulence in the physical health as well. Some of the most common symptoms of depression include a constant feeling of sadness or dejection, losing interest in many activities, low sex drive, lack of sleep or excessive sleeping, restlessness, impaired thinking, poor concentration, fatigue, suicidal thoughts, crying spells for no apparent reason and physical problems like backache and headaches. There are a lot of other symptoms as well, but these happen to be the common ones. Coming to the treatment part, among the numerous treatment options available for dealing with the disorder, the vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) is one that is employed by experts. This involves generation of electric impulses which are fed to the brain, in an attempt to improve the depression symptoms. Know more about this from what follows.

How Does VNS Benefit People Suffering from Depression?

This therapy is relatively new in the medical science, and is employed to treat and improve chronic depression symptoms, when the rest of the treatment methods have failed in receiving any positive response.

The name of this treatment comes from one nerve on each side of your body, which is known as the 'vagus nerve'. The network of this nerve is connected from the brain stem, extending to the neck and right to the chest and the abdominal area.

So how does the process work? For this a pulse generator, also known as a vagus nerve stimulator is surgically implanted in the chest area. The device is run by a battery. Then a wire that connects the generator, is connected to the left vagus nerve in the neck. This wire is threaded under the skin. The stimulation of vagus nerve occurs once the generator starts sending short bursts of electrical energy to the brain, with the vagus nerve as the communicating medium. These signals influence the part of the brain that is involved in controlling the mood of the person thus, improving the depression symptoms.

Benefits of VNS in Treating Epilepsy

What I missed mentioning about above was, this therapy is also used to for treating a disorder known as epilepsy, as well. The condition gives rise to recurring seizures. Although no specific causes have been identified, it is assumed that the condition results from abnormal activities in the brain. Common symptoms include temporary state of confusion, staring away at something for a moment, shaky movements of the limbs and in some cases, a state of complete unconsciousness.

So even in this case, when all treatment options do not do well, the vagus nerve stimulation therapy is brought into the picture. The procedure is the same as what goes in the treatment of depression. Most cases have shown that the use of this method has been able to cut the frequency of seizures by 30 - 40%.

Possible Side Effects of VNS

The side effects occur from the surgical procedure that is required to implant the pulse generator in the chest, and from the generation of the electric pulses to the brain.

Surgery

• Breathing problems
• Infection
• Nausea
• Pain at the incision site
• Possible paralysis of the vocal cords
• Problems with the heart
• Scarring of the operated site

Generation of Pulses

• Changes in voices (occurs in 50% of cases)
• Cough
• Difficult breathing
• Hoarseness
• Pain in the throat area, and in the neck
• Swallowing problems
• Tingling, or prickling sensation

Patients are advised to make regular visits to their doctor. This helps in detecting any problems in the working of the device; such as any malfunction or any shift from the position where it was originally implanted.