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Thread: New treatment for depression

  1. #16
    Join Date
    May 2002
    Location
    Ploss's Halfway House for Homeless Cats
    Posts
    18,311
    AMEN Ellie!!!

    LH,

    Yeah, there are some people who are desperate enough to drink after shave, mouth wash, etc. But I'm with Ellie. If I were to go under the knife, it'll be for a little lipo, not having holes drilled in my head.

    Rest In Peace Casey (Bubba Dude) Your paw print will remain on my heart forever. 12/02
    Mollie Rose, you were there for me through good times and in bad, from the beginning.Your passing will leave a hole in my heart.We will be together "One Fine Day". 1994-2009
    MooShoo,you left me too soon.I wasn't ready.Know that you were my soulmate and have left me broken hearted.I loved you like no other. 1999 - 2010See you again "ONE FINE DAY"
    Maya Linn, my heart is broken. The day your beautiful blue eyes went blind was the worst day of my life.I only wish I could've done something.I'll miss your "premium" purr and our little "conversations". 1997-2013 See you again "ONE FINE DAY"

    DO NOT BUY WHILE SHELTER ANIMALS DIE!!

  2. #17
    Join Date
    Aug 2004
    Location
    Alberta, Canada
    Posts
    22,005
    Severe depression and other mental conditions are known to be due to a physical cause - too little of, too much of or an imbalance in brain chemicals.

    Some people with severe diabetes have had surgery where islets are put into their liver, and they are cured.

    Heart disease often requires surgical intervention, mild or severe.

    If surgery is a last resort for any condition, I am all for it.

    We're not talking the blues here, or treatable depression - we are talking about a condition severe enough that crippled Guyton her whole life. In Canada, Parkinson's patients under the age of 65 can have a surgical implant to greatly alleviate their symptoms. That's a brain chemical lack - dopamine - that produces obvious physical symptoms. I guess that makes it a "real" disease, unlike the brain chemicals that produce "only" emotional symptoms.

    I'll be glad when surgical treatment for mental conditions is accorded the same respect as surgery for other conditions. As Karen said, there are risks to any surgery. I hope mental health treatments are allowed out of the dark ages soon.
    "Do or do not. There is no try." -- Yoda

  3. #18
    Join Date
    Nov 2002
    Location
    Westchester Cty, NY
    Posts
    8,738
    I agree. I think with the new functional MRI and other brain imaging techniques, medicine might finally be able to get a grip on mental illness, its causes, and specific drug targets to treat it. Electrode implants have been used now for several indications, but they are a last resort as they are in fact brain surgery!

    On the "abuse" angle, a book came out almost 40 years ago called The Terminal Man by Michael Crichton: VERY far ahead of its time!
    I've been finally defrosted by cassiesmom!
    "Not my circus, not my monkeys!"-Polish proverb

  4. #19
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Location
    At university in Hertfordshire, UK
    Posts
    4,944
    I find this area of research very interesting, particularly as it seems to be so effective. It would appear that side-effects are virtually non-existent, when the surgery is done correctly, due to the purely electrical stimulation of the nervous tissue. That sure beats the often debilitating side-effects of some anti-depressant drugs on the market right now. I hope it brings new life to many people around the world.

    As far as back-street surgery goes, that kinda reminded me of 'caveman brain surgery'. Homo sapiens were, apparently, probing around in brains regardless of necessity for thousands of years. I personally don't believe this story will revive the trade.

    I know what I'd be more worried about - brain control. There's a video (probably on the 'net, somewhere) made by some optogenetic researchers that depicts a mouse with a chip in its brain. The chip emits blue light on demand via remote control, causing it to run around against its own will. An unnerving thought...

    Zimbabwe 07/13


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