Vagus Nerve Stimulation Shows Positive Treatment Effect in Depression
FRIDAY, Jan. 3, 2025 -- Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) shows a positive treatment effect and improved quality of life (QoL) among patients with treatment-resistant depression (TRD), according to two studies published online Dec. 18 in Brain Stimulation.
Charles R. Conway, M.D., from Washington University in St. Louis, and colleagues conducted a multicenter, double-blind trial involving 493 adults with treatment-resistant major depression who were randomly assigned to receive 12 months of active or no stimulation sham VNS; 88.4 percent of participants completed the trial. The researchers found that the percent time in Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale response could not differentiate active from sham VNS. However, antidepressant benefits significantly favored active VNS based on ratings from on-site clinicians and offsite masked raters. Significantly more percent time in response on the Clinical Global Inventory-Impression and Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomology-Self Report was seen with active VNS.
A. John Rush, M.D., from Duke-NUS Medical School in Singapore, and colleagues compared the effects of active versus sham VNS on QoL and function in TRD in a multicenter, randomized study involving 493 adult patients with four or more unsuccessful antidepressant treatment trials. The researchers found that active VNS was superior to sham in terms of mean change from baseline in the seven-item subset of the Quality-of-Life Enjoyment and Satisfaction Questionnaire (Mini-Q-LES-Q) and Work Productivity and Activity Impairment Questionnaire (WPAI) item 6 used as continuous variables; a similar trend was seen for Q-LES-Q. Based on the Mini-Q-LES-Q, WPAI item 6, and Q-LES-Q, active VNS was superior to sham in time spent in clinically meaningful benefit.
"What's really important here is that patients themselves were reporting that their lives were improving," Conway said in a statement.
Several authors disclosed ties to pharmaceutical and medical technology companies, including LivaNova; LivaNova funded the original study from which these findings were derived.
Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.
© 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Read this next
Parent-Focused Interventions Do Not Prevent Obesity at Age 24 Months
TUESDAY, Sept. 16, 2025 -- Parent-focused behavioral interventions seem to be insufficient for preventing obesity at age 24 months, according to a review published online Sept. 10...
Half Discontinue Semaglutide for Weight Loss Within One Year
TUESDAY, Sept. 16, 2025 -- Half of adults who start semaglutide for weight loss discontinue within a year, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the European...
Parental Diseases of Despair Linked to Suicidal Events in Offspring
MONDAY, Sept. 15, 2025 -- Parental diseases of despair (DoD; i.e., substance use disorder, alcohol-related disease, or suicidal behavior) are associated with suicidal events (SE)...
More news resources
- FDA Medwatch Drug Alerts
- Daily MedNews
- News for Health Professionals
- New Drug Approvals
- New Drug Applications
- Drug Shortages
- Clinical Trial Results
- Generic Drug Approvals
Subscribe to our newsletter
Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.