-Caveat Lector- Monday October 11 2:52 PM ET Brain Shocks May Help Depression By LAURAN NEERGAARD AP Medical Writer WASHINGTON (AP) - The former shipbuilder had severe depression unrelieved by any of today's therapies, so sick he had trouble even leaving his house. Then doctors implanted a pacemaker-like device to stimulate a part of his brain thought important for mood - and that very day the man laughed. ``It was remarkable,'' recalled Dr. Mark George of the Medical University of South Carolina, who performed the experimental implant. ``I said, 'Are you being forced to laugh or do you feel good inside?' He said both.'' Stimulating a nerve that runs from the neck into one of the brain's most mysterious regions appears promising enough at relieving once-untreatable depression that the government just granted permission for a study at 15 hospitals around the country. The treatment, called vagus nerve stimulation, involves sending tiny electric shocks into the vagus nerve in the neck, where it then relays messages deep into the brain. About half of the 30 depressed patients treated in a pilot study - people who had failed every other treatment - ``got a very good response,'' George said in an interview. The results are not definitive, he cautioned. But he added, ``Stimulating there really is a wonderful portal into the base of the brain.'' Full text at: http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/19991011/hl/brain_stimulator_2.html DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance—not soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/CTRL.html http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
