The Cleveland Clinic and Brown University researchers are studying a brain surgery to stop tremors in Parkinson’s disease patients. It can also treat major depression with potentially serious risks.



The surgery, ‘deep brain stimulation’, uses high-resolution imaging. Surgeons place minute electrical devices in the area of the brain that controls mood. After that, they insert pacemakers in the chest and hook up it to the electrical devices. The signals help fine-tune abnormal brain activity and its impact.



Preliminary study results show that two-thirds of the patients had a ‘unique decrease’ in the harshness of their depression, after one year of surgery. Researchers are now looking for the effects of this surgery on obsessive-compulsive disorder too.



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