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Hope for patients with depression
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An estimated 3.2 million Americans suffer from treatment-resistant
depression (TRD), but very few have received effective treatment. Ziad
Nahas, M.D., associate professor at MUSC, is one of 42 researchers from
a pool of 217 awarded a NARSAD (National Alliance for Research on
Schizophrenia and Depression) 2010 Independent Investigator grant for
research on treatment-resistant depression.
Nahas will receive $100,000 for his research project titled, “Bilateral
Epidural Prefrontal Cortical Stimulation (EpCS) for Treatment-Resistant
Depression.”
Nahas has obtained preliminary data in open-treatment settings showing
that EpCS is effective in relieving severe TRD in five patients.
The goal of the proposed project is to extend this line of clinical
research in patients with TRD and collect more data with EpCS under
blind conditions.
Robert M. Post, M.D., is a member of the Scientific Council and chair
of the committee that selected the 2010 Independent Investigators.
“This year’s applicants brought forward exceptional and diverse
proposals that will lead to significant discoveries in the field of
psychiatry,” he said. The committee identified those proposals they
believed demonstrated the most innovative and promising paths toward
better understanding of psychiatric disorders.
Nahas said cortical stimulation has several advantages provided that it
shows efficacy in treating depression. “It is reversible,
non-destructive and potentially safer than other forms of invasive
brain stimulation since the stimulating paddles don’t come in direct
contact with the brain. NARSAD’s confidence in our team and approach is
a token of its relentless effort to continue the search for effective
treatments to this disabling disease.”
Friday, Sept. 3, 2010
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