title: The effects of stimulation parameters on clinical outcomes in patients with vagus nerve stimulation implants with major depression.
abstract: Stimulation techniques, such as vagus nerve stimulation, are a promising new approach for treatment-resistant depression. Most international studies have used fixed stimulation parameters or have varied the stimulation frequencies. Our retrospective examination of 2 parallel groups of 10 patients each compared low-strength/high-frequency vagus nerve stimulation parameters (≤1.5 mA, 20 Hz) with high-strength/low-frequency ( >1.5 mA, 15 Hz) parameters. We found a significant decrease in the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression scores in patients who were treated using the low-strength/high-frequency stimulation parameters. In contrast, the scores of the patients treated with high-strength/low-frequency stimulation did not change.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen, Germany. helge.mueller@uk-erlangen.de
authors.forename: Helge H
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Müller
authors.forename: Johannes
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kornhuber
authors.forename: Juan Manuel
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Maler
authors.forename: Wolfgang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Sperling
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000928:Antidepressive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D061218:Depressive Disorder, Treatment-Resistant; D004567:Electrodes, Implanted; D056344:Executive Function; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055536:Vagus Nerve Stimulation / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D000928:Antidepressive Agents