Efficacy and quality of life after 6-9 years of deep brain stimulation for depression.

Background: Given the invasiveness of deep brain stimulation (DBS), the effect should prove to be stable over the long-term and translate into an improvement of quality of life (QOL).

Objective: To study the effectiveness and QOL up to nine years after the DBS surgery.

Methods: We treated 25 adult patients with major depression with DBS of the ventral anterior limb of the internal capsule (vALIC).

Long-term Outcome of Deep Brain Stimulation of the Ventral Part of the Anterior Limb of the Internal Capsule in a Cohort of 50 Patients With Treatment-Refractory Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.

Background: Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is an effective intervention for patients with severe treatment-refractory obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Our aim was to examine long-term effectiveness and tolerability of DBS and its impact on functioning and well-being.

Methods: Fifty patients with severe treatment-refractory OCD received DBS of the ventral part of the anterior limb of the internal capsule and were followed for at least 3 years following implantation (mean 6.

Optimizing Deep Brain Stimulation Parameters in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.

Objectives: Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is an innovative and effective treatment for patients with therapy-refractory obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). DBS offers unique opportunities for personalized care, but no guidelines on how to choose effective and safe stimulation parameters in patients with OCD are available. Our group gained relevant practical knowledge on DBS optimization by treating more than 80 OCD patients since 2005, the world's largest cohort.

Efficacy of Deep Brain Stimulation of the Ventral Anterior Limb of the Internal Capsule for Refractory Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: A Clinical Cohort of 70 Patients.

Objective: Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is an effective treatment option for patients with refractory obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). However, clinical experience with DBS for OCD remains limited. The authors examined the tolerability and effectiveness of DBS in an open study of patients with refractory OCD.

Impulsivity and decision-making in obsessive-compulsive disorder after effective deep brain stimulation or treatment as usual.

Objective: Impulsivity and impaired decision-making have been proposed as obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) endophenotypes, running in OCD and their healthy relatives independently of symptom severity and medication status. Deep brain stimulation (DBS) targeting the ventral limb of the internal capsule (vALIC) and the nucleus accumbens (Nacc) is an effective treatment strategy for treatment-refractory OCD. The effectiveness of vALIC-DBS for OCD has been linked to its effects on a frontostriatal network that is also implicated in reward, impulse control, and decision-making.

Cost-effectiveness of deep brain stimulation versus treatment as usual for obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Background: Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) is effective for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), but requires expensive medical procedures. To date, no study has examined the cost-effectiveness of DBS for OCD.

Objective: To perform the first economic evaluation of DBS for therapy refractory OCD.

Rebound of affective symptoms following acute cessation of deep brain stimulation in obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Background: Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is regarded as an effective way to treat refractory obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Little is known about the effects of DBS cessation following a longer period of stimulation.

Objective: To determine the relapse and rebound effects of psychiatric symptoms, and their impact on Quality of Life (QoL) following acute cessation of DBS in OCD patients.

Deep brain stimulation for obsessive-compulsive disorders: long-term analysis of quality of life.

Objective: To evaluate the long-term effects of deep brain stimulation (DBS) on quality of life (QOL) in therapy-refractory obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) patients.

Design: 16 patients who met Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed) (DSM-IV) criteria for OCD and were considered therapy-refractory were treated with DBS. Patients were assessed 1 month before device implantation (T0), at 8 months of active stimulation (T1) and at 3-5 years of active stimulation (T2).

Deep brain stimulation restores frontostriatal network activity in obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Little is known about the underlying neural mechanism of deep brain stimulation (DBS). We found that DBS targeted at the nucleus accumbens (NAc) normalized NAc activity, reduced excessive connectivity between the NAc and prefrontal cortex, and decreased frontal low-frequency oscillations during symptom provocation in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder. Our findings suggest that DBS is able to reduce maladaptive activity and connectivity of the stimulated region.