Brain Pacemaker may Help Patients with Anorexia Nervosa, Stimulates Reward Centers of the Brain

New reports indicate that treatment of anorexia nervosa can be helped with a brain pacemaker.

A serious eating disorder, individuals with this health issue will starve themselves due to the mistaken belief that they are overweight. Famous celebrities, including the well-known singer, Karen Carpenter, was one to fall victim to the disease, which eventually killed her.

Yet, researchers affiliated with the Krembil Neuroscience Center in Toronto and the University Health Network in Canada have found that a procedure known as deep brain stimulation (DBS) can help to treat the disorder, with findings published in the journal The Lancet.

The researchers note that early treatment of adolescents with anorexia nervosa, via mobilization of family members to restore normal eating and weight, is successful in 30-60 percent of patients. However, according to reports, those with an illness duration of longer than three years (as is often the case in adult patients) change can be more difficult. Even with the best available psychological treatments, outcomes in those with an established form of the illness are generally poor.

The 'brain pacemaker' has been used for nearly 25 used to treat movement disorders for such problems as Parkinson's disease, tremor and dystonia (repetitive, involuntary muscle contraction). And more recently, it has been used for the treatment of epilepsy, Tourette's syndrome and major depression.

In the first-ever study to treat anorexia with DBS, the investigators focused on a specific region of the brain--bundle of white matter below the corpus callosum that divides the left and right sides of the brain. They chose this area as it appeared to be implicated in the condition to overactive in patients with anorexia nervosa or depression. In addition, it is connected to other areas in the brain that are implicated, such as areas controlling body image, reward, and awareness.

The researchers surgically implanted electrodes within the target areas of their subjects' brains. Once in place, the electrodes were attached to a pacemaker-like device, which is placed underneath the skin of the collar bone. The device was then activated, and the electrodes began sending electrical impulses to the areas of the brain in an attempt to control the abnormal impulses. Placement of a DBS electrode in this area turns down the volume and activity in this area of the brain.

The study group comprised six subjects between the ages of 25 and 57; they had been suffering from anorexia nervosa for between four and 37 years. Before surgery, the researchers conducted baseline investigations of the subjects' moods and body mass index.

The study found that five or six patients had stabilized or gained weight, and half of the patients experienced significant improvements in their moods or had reduced their obsessive-compulsive disorder. At nine months, the results were even more encouraging, with three patients maintaining a higher weight than before receiving DBS, which was the longest sustained weight any of the patients had since the start of their illness.