In a first,pacemaker fitted in brain helps cure OCD

48-Year-Old Patient Had Been Suffering For Two Decades

Kounteya Sinha | TNN

New Delhi: In a rare first for Asia,Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) a medical condition that results in repetitive behaviour such as handwashing,checking or cleaning has been treated with a pacemaker fitted in parts of the brain.
A team from VIMHANS in the capital has successfully implanted a pacemaker in the brain of an OCD patient,which has significantly reduced her peculiarities in just two weeks time.
The team,including neurosurgeons Dr Alok Gupta and Dr Sanjeev Kumar and psychiatrist Dr Ashutosh Tripathi,used Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) to implant the pacemaker for sending electrical impulses to specific parts of the brain.
DBS,which has been used in select regions of brain till now,has provided remarkable therapeutic benefits for disorders like such as Parkinsons and dystonia.However,it has been used for the first time to treat OCD.
DBS involves precise stimulation of particular parts of the brain through the implantation of removable electrodes.Two electrodes have been wired to both sides of patients brain (anterior limb of internal capsule) which communicate through the pacemaker,the battery of which has been put inside her chest.We can alter the function of any part of the brain by stimulating it.If stimulated with low frequency electrodes,the area starts to get excited.With high frequency,it blocks off the pathway and reduces symptoms.In her case,we used high frequency electrodes to block the pathway of the brain that was causing OCD, Dr Gupta explained.
The 48-year woman patient had been suffering from OCD for the past 21 years.She had been living in constant fear of all kinds of touch,scared that any contact with her children or object would severely soil her hands.
Her condition had become so acute that she stopped eating or going to the toilet on her own.In fact,she would sit all day on the bed without touching anything,waiting for her children or husband to feed her or take her to the toilet.
To make matters worse,if she touched anything by mistake,she would wash it several times.Strangely,she would not turn off the tap even after using it.
Two weeks since the implant,she has not just started eating on her own but is now completely independent, Dr Gupta added.
Though there are a number of medications and psychological therapies available to treat OCD,it is estimated that about 10% patients dont respond adequately to these firstline interventions.
DBS is for those patients who dont respond to medication.Psychiatrists need to identify these patients before the brain pacemaker can be used.Besides,the price of this form of treatment is yet to be determined.DBS used for Parkinsons patients costs $8000 in India, Dr Gupta said.

Oddballs For A Reason

Obsessive compulsive disorder has affected millions of people through the years,including some famous personalities... Italian Renaissance painter Michelangelo never took off his clothes or boots American aviator-directorphilanthropist Howard Hughes couldn't stop washing his hands Brtish football star David Beckham loses his cool when books aren't kept in pairs American tycoon Donald Trump avoids shaking hands Actress Cameron Diaz uses her elbows to push open doors Michael Jackson,Beethoven,Albert Einstein,Harrison Ford,Jessica Alba and Penelope Cruz have all suffered from this psychiatric behavioural disorder

In India,OCD is a very common psychiatric disorder,but this is hardly recognized

Some common obsessions with OCD patients are fear of dirt or germs,concern with order,symmetry (balance) and exactness,worry that a task has been done poorly,constantly thinking about certain sounds,images,words or numbers all the time Common compulsions of an OCD patient are cleaning,grooming,washing hands,brushing teeth repeatedly,checking drawers,appliances to be sure they are locked or turned off,arranging items in certain ways and counting to a certain number over and over again

1%-3 % of people across the globe suffer from OCD



Jessica Alba

Beckham