Pilot clinical trial shows electrical stimulation of the spinal cord could help treat depression.
- Electrical stimulation to the spinal cord was associated with a reduction in the severity of depressive symptoms.
- The experiment, carried out on 20 patients, reveals that this type of care is feasible and well tolerated.
- However, the results will need to be replicated in larger studies to be confirmed.
“We believe that the connection between the brain and body is essential in psychiatric disorders”explains Dr. Francisco Romo Navaprofessor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences at the University of Cincinnati and associate research director At Research Institute at the Lindner Center of HOPE in a communicated. “Many symptoms of mood disorders, eating disorders or anxiety disorders are linked to what could be interpreted as a dysregulation of this brain-body interaction.”
For his study presented in the journal Molecular Psychiatry on December 20, 2023, the researcher was more specifically interested in the neuronal pathways located in the spinal cord which transmit information from the body to the brain regions involved in the management of emotions. With his team, he wanted to determine whether electrical stimulation of the spinal cord could help relieve depressive states.
Electrical stimulation: a reduction in the severity of depressive symptoms
For this, the team brought together 20 patients suffering from depression. Half received treatment based on electrical stimulation of the spinal cord. The other had a version “placebo” electrical therapy. The volunteers participated in three weekly 20-minute sessions for eight weeks, for a total of 24 sessions.
The non-invasive experimental device is no bigger than a shoebox. The electrode is placed on the patient’s back at the level of their spine. “We used a current so low that it is about 10 times smaller than that known to induce tissue damage”specifies Dr. Francisco Romo-Nava.
Analyzes of the results show that participants who received electrical stimulation at the spinal cord level showed a reduction in the severity of their depressive symptoms compared to the control group. Additionally, if their resting blood pressure had not changed over the eight weeks, diastolic blood pressure (the lowest number in a blood pressure measurement) had decreased for a short period after each session cumulatively.
“This could mean that we could actually induce a form of plastic effect on the brain-body interaction circuit that is also involved in autonomic functions such as blood pressure and heart rate”estimates Dr. Romo Nava. “It’s very preliminary, but it’s also another signal going in the right direction.“
Spinal cord stimulation and depression: additional studies needed
The researchers’ data reveal that the current from the spinal cord device reaches the spinal gray matter in the spinal cord, but not the brain itself. “This supports our hypothesis that it is the modulation of these information pathways that can induce an effect on areas of the brain linked to mood”explains the lead author. “It’s not the current that reaches the brain, it’s the change in the signal that has an effect”. However, he then recognizes that “This study is not sufficient to prove all of these components of the hypothesis, but we think it is a good start.”
Furthermore, the work which was also intended to evaluate the feasibility and safety of the intervention reported side effects “light”. The scientists noted skin redness at the stimulation site which disappeared after around twenty minutes. Brief, non-painful itching or burning sensations are also reported. However, they only lasted during the sessions.
Given these promising results, the team plans to raise new funds to conduct larger trials and develop a wearable version of the spinal cord stimulation device.
