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A small electric generator,
about the size of a stopwatch, can be surgically attached
to rib cage during an operation. The generator is called a
Vagus Nerve Stimulator or VNS because wires from the generator
travel under the skin up to the neck and wrap around the Vagus
nerve, which sends signals to the brain to help regulate moods.
The VNS is programmed
by a computer to stimulate the Vagus nerve for 30 seconds
every five minutes. The only side effect: a slight change
in the patient?s voice because the stimulator is near the
vocal chord. The VNS has been used to treat people with epilepsy
since 1997.
When scientists
noticed it also put patients in a better mood, they decided
to try it on severely depressed people. Now the Food and Drug
Administration has approved another test of the nerve stimulator
at 15 medical centers nationwide.
It could be at
least a year before the treatment is widely available, but
it does offer hope for the one million people who suffer from
untreatable depression.
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