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The scope of functional neurosurgery is expanding, and deep brain stimulation (DBS) indications with comorbid depressive disorders that are challenging to manage, such as movement disorders, are common. There is limited research or clinical experience on the safety and efficacy of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) in patients with DBS electrodes. We present a case illustrating the challenges when faced with ECT for treatment-resistant depression in the context of preexisting DBS electrodes, and establish a database to collect cases of ECT in DBS patients.

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ObjectiveMedically unexplained somatic complaints are highly prevalent, and lead to significant impairment and disability. The number of effective treatment modalities for somatic symptom and related disorders (SSDs) or somatoform disorders (SDs) remains limited. To date, there is no formal indication for electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) in SSD or SD. We report on the largest case series to date regarding the effectiveness of ECT in patients with SSD and SD.MethodsA retrospective chart review of all patients treated with an index course of ECT at the Neuropsychiatric Program at the University of British Columbia Hospital from 2000 to 2010 was conducted. The primary outcomes consisted of changes in pseudoneurologic symptoms, pain symptoms, cardiopulmonary symptoms, and gastrointestinal symptoms. Complaints were examined pre- and post-ECT.ResultsTwenty-eight participants were included in this study. Twenty-one participants received right unilateral ECT. Six received bifrontal ECT. One received bitemporal ECT. Eighteen of 21 participants reported improvement in pseudoneurologic symptoms; eleven of 14 participants reported improvement in pain symptoms; one participant reported improvement in cardiopulmonary symptoms; and one of two participants reported improvement in gastrointestinal symptoms. This paper discusses the putative mechanism of action of ECT in the treatment of SD/SSD.ConclusionThis retrospective study suggests that ECT could be included as part of the existing treatment for refractory SSD and SD, particularly in refractory cases with comorbid mood disorders.

Background: Biomarkers that predict clinical outcomes in depression are essential for increasing the precision of treatments and clinical outcomes. The electroencephalogram (EEG) is a non-invasive neurophysiological test that has promise as a biomarker sensitive to treatment effects. The aim of our study was to investigate a novel non-linear index of resting state EEG activity as a predictor of clinical outcome, and compare its predictive capacity to traditional frequency-based indices.Methods: EEG was recorded from 62 patients with treatment resistant depression (TRD) and 25 healthy comparison (HC) subjects. TRD patients were treated with excitatory repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) to the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) for 4 to 6 weeks. EEG signals were first decomposed using the empirical mode decomposition (EMD) method into band-limited intrinsic mode functions (IMFs). Subsequently, Permutation Entropy (PE) was computed from the obtained second IMF to yield an index named PEIMF2. Receiver Operator Characteristic (ROC) curve analysis and ANOVA test were used to evaluate the efficiency of this index (PEIMF2) and were compared to frequency-band based methods.Results: Responders (RP) to rTMS exhibited an increase in the PEIMF2 index compared to non-responders (NR) at F3, FCz and FC3 sites (p < 0.01). The area under the curve (AUC) for ROC analysis was 0.8 for PEIMF2 index for the FC3 electrode. The PEIMF2 index was superior to ordinary frequency band measures.Conclusion: Our data show that the PEIMF2 index, yields superior outcome prediction performance compared to traditional frequency band indices. Our findings warrant further investigation of EEG-based biomarkers in depression; specifically entropy indices applied in band-limited EEG components. Registration in ClinicalTrials.Gov; identifiers NCT02800226 and NCT01887782.

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The ethics of betel nut use in Taiwan are examined in this article. It first presents scientific facts about the betel quid, its consumption and negative health consequences and then analyses the cultural background and economic factors contributing to its popularity in Asia. Governmental and institutional attempts to curb betel nut cultivation, distribution and sales are also described. Finally, the bioethical implications of this often ignored subject are considered.