A multicenter pilot study of subcallosal cingulate area deep brain stimulation for treatment-resistant depression.

Object: Deep brain stimulation (DBS) has been recently investigated as a treatment for major depression. One of the proposed targets for this application is the subcallosal cingulate gyrus (SCG). To date, promising results after SCG DBS have been reported by a single center. In the present study the authors investigated whether these findings may be replicated at different institutions. They conducted a 3-center prospective open-label trial of SCG DBS for 12 months in patients with treatment-resistant depression.

Methods: Twenty-one patients underwent implantation of bilateral SCG electrodes. The authors examined the reduction in Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HRSD-17) score from baseline (RESP50).

Results: Patients treated with SCG DBS had an RESP50 of 57% at 1 month, 48% at 6 months, and 29% at 12 months. The response rate after 12 months of DBS, however, increased to 62% when defined as a reduction in the baseline HRSD-17 of 40% or more. Reductions in depressive symptomatology were associated with amelioration in disease severity in patients who responded to surgery.

Conclusions: Overall, findings from this study corroborate the results of previous reports showing that outcome of SCG DBS may be replicated across centers.