Peer-Review ReportDeep Brain Stimulation in the Treatment of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
Introduction
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a chronic disorder characterized by persistent obsessive, intrusive thoughts generating anxiety, and related compulsions (tasks or rituals) with the function of neutralizing the distress. It is the 10th most common cause of disability in the world, affecting approximately 2% of the population (11). It is considered to be one of the most disabling psychiatric disorders, creating manifest functional impairment that will influence work, leisure activities, and interaction with family and the social environment. OCD is, however, not only associated with suffering for the patients, and a reduced quality of life, but also with a significant mortality (3). Recent studies suggest that 10% to 27% of the patients might attempt suicide during their lifetime (3).
Even though the majority of patients with OCD will respond at least partly to selective serotonin-reuptake inhibitors and cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy (CBT), there remains a significant portion in whom these methods will cause little or no relief of the patient’s symptoms (36). It is estimated that about 10% of the patients will demonstrate severe therapy-refractory symptoms 16, 17.
In these patients, stereotactic lesional procedures (capsulotomy and cingulotomy) have constituted an alternative for a few well-selected patients. The results have varied, and the irreversibility of the procedure has raised concern regarding nontransient side effects 38, 59.
Recently, stereotactic deep brain stimulation (DBS) has emerged as a possible treatment for therapy-refractory OCD. Although chronic electrical stimulation using stereotactically implanted electrodes have a long history going back to the 1950s, the modern era began in the end of the 1980s and has expanded, especially during the last decade 9, 12, 28, 69. Today DBS is an established treatment for movement disorders such as Parkinson disease (PD), and more than 60,000 patients have undergone operations worldwide (46).
New indications for DBS are emerging, and regarding psychiatric disorders, several studies have been presented regarding Tourette syndrome 2, 8, 18, 29, 31, 63, 64, 75, major depressive disorder 10, 14, 34, 39, 44, 60, and OCD 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 15, 17, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 30, 32, 33, 38, 42, 45, 50, 51, 52, 53, 55, 65, 67, 68. The goal of this report is to review the modern literature regarding DBS in the treatment of OCD.
Section snippets
Studies and Methods
The literature was searched regarding DBS for OCD. Relevant publications were obtained using the PubMed database and references from the consulted reports. Duplicate inclusion of patients included in multiple publications from the same institution was avoided.
DBS
The surgical procedure differs little between OCD and movement disorders (14). After mounting of the stereotactic frame, magnetic resonance imaging is performed for identification of the target. A burr hole is made a few centimeters from the midline in accordance with the precalculated trajectory, and the electrode is advanced to the target. The DBS electrode has a diameter of 1.27 mm and 4 contacts of 1.5 or 3 mm in length, separated by 0.5, 1.5, or 4 mm, depending on the model. The effect and
Pathophysiology
Although recent neuroimaging studies are increasing our knowledge regarding the mechanism behind OCD, the understanding of the pathophysiological background is still limited 30, 38, 48, 56, 57, 58, 61, 73. The suggested models are instructive, but there must be little doubt that the reality is far more complex. Even if functional neuroimaging holds promise for the future, it has as yet had limited impact on the current status of DBS for OCD. The best target for an intervention with DBS cannot
Results
The results are summarized in Table 1 and presented in further detail regarding the larger studies in Table 2.
The first patients treated with DBS for OCD underwent implantation in the anterior IC in the same target as used for capsulotomies 25, 50, 51. Four collaborating groups have individually and in various combinations presented parts of a study recently summarized by Greenberg et al. (25). The results were reported for 26 patients after a mean time of 24 months. Cases lost to follow-up
Discussion
Although the study is limited, the effects of unilateral NA DBS are modest compared to the bilateral procedures. It is of interest that an effect was only achieved by Huff et al. (32) when using the 2 deepest contacts in the NA, whereas Denys et al. (17) had no effect here, but only at the above-lying contacts in the IC. At the same time, the target in the IC has been moved to a more posterior and somewhat deeper location: this is why the deepest contact will often be in the NA (25). Thus, when
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Long-Term Deep Brain Stimulation in Treatment-Resistant Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: Outcome and Quality of Life at Four to Eight Years Follow-Up
2021, NeuromodulationCitation Excerpt :The optimal site for chronic stimulation remains unclear (11). While the efficacy of DBS has been documented by several studies (11, 17–19), there is a paucity of data for long-term follow-up beyond two years. We here provide evidence for clinical effects of long-term BNST/ALIC stimulation in six trOCD patients, who were followed at least for four years and up to eight years.
Obsessive-compulsive disorder
2020, Rosenberg’s Molecular and Genetic Basis of Neurological and Psychiatric Disease: Volume 2
Conflict of interest statement: This work was supported by grants from the Swedish Research Council, University Hospital of Umeå, and from the Foundation for Clinical Neuroscience at the University Hospital of Umeå. Marwan Hariz is supported by the Parkinson Appeal U.K. and the Edmond J. Safra Philanthropic Foundation. He has occasionally received honoraria from Medtronic for speaking at meetings. The authors have nothing further to acknowledge.