Case ReportOpen Access

Case Report is Transcutaneous Vagus Nerve Stimulation Helpful in the Treatment of Treatment- Resistant Depression? A Case Presentation and Discussion of Clinical Efficacy

Volume 5 - Issue 2

**Xiao Jiao Li¹, Ji Liang Fang*¹, Chun Hong Liu² and Peijing Rong³**

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- ¹Guang’anmen Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, China
- ²Beijing Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Capital Medical University, Beijing Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine, China
- ³Guang’anmen Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, China
*Corresponding author: Ji Liang Fang, Guang’anmen Hospital, 5 Bei Xian Ge Street, Xuan Wu Qu, Beijing 100053, China

Received: June 01, 2018; Published: June 07, 2018

DOI: 10.26717/BJSTR.2018.05.001175

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Abstract

Depression is a highly prevalent disorder, which is characterized by over-reaction, rumination, and cognitive decline. Less than 40% of depressed patients in clinical practice can be relieved after the first treatment with antidepressants [1], and about 35% of patients have a lack of response to treatment and become treatment-resistant depression (TRD) [2]. Considerable effort has been devoted to trying to find effective treatments for TRD. Studies to date have found that long-term vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) can effectively reduce the degree of depression in some patients [3]. In 2005, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved VNS as an adjunctive treatment for patients with TRD. However, invasive VNS not only has high surgical costs but also has the risk of postoperative infection. The transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation (tVNS) in recent years, although still in its early stages, has shown potential for mild and moderate major depressive disorder (MDD) patients, and its efficacies are similar to those of vagus nerve stimulation (VNS )[4,5]. From this point we used tVNS to preliminarily explore its therapeutic effect on TRD and be eager to improve the new treatments for TRD. This case is the first exploration of tVNS on the treatment of TRD.

Abbreviations: TRD: Treatment-Resistant Depression; VNS: Vagus Nerve Stimulation; FDA: Food and Drug Administration; TVNS: Transcutaneous Vagus Nerve Stimulation; MDD: Major Depressive Disorder; SDS: Self-Rating Depression Scale; HT: Hydroxy Tryptamine; NE: Norepinephrine; DA: do-pamine; SSRI: Selective 5-Ht Reuptake Inhibitors; ZDF: Zucker Diabetic Fatty; DN: Default Network; FC: Functional Connectivity