Scientists understand the benefits of deep brain stimulation for treating depression, epilepsy, Parkinson's disease, and other conditions, but the precise mechanisms underlying its long-term therapeutic effect have remained a mystery. A team from the United States has filled this scientific gap and presented the first evidence that deep brain stimulation alters white matter structure at the cellular level, NeuroScience reports .
The treatment has been shown to work beyond short-term changes in brain electrical activity: stimulation leads to structural plasticity of white matter, dramatically increasing myelination of nerve cells to restore neural circuits, including those that do not respond to standard therapy in patients with treatment-resistant depression.
Now, scientists have finally explained the therapeutic effect of deep brain stimulation, which has been demonstrated in numerous clinical trials of mental disorders and neurodegenerative diseases. This discovery offers targets for new non-invasive treatment strategies.
Previously, other scientists demonstrated that vagus nerve stimulation is effective in treating rheumatoid arthritis. In this case, the technology was designed to activate the body's innate anti-inflammatory mechanisms, which may be impaired in people with autoimmunity.
