Ethics of Deep Brain Stimulation in Treating
Conditions of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and Addiction
Deep brain stimulation (DBS), a new form of psychiatric therapy, which emerged during the late 1980’s (Kraemer, 2013), opens a thrilling door of potential in the world of psychological medicine. Patients suffering from severe cases of Parkinson’s disease, dystonia, and essential tremor are turning to this effective neurosurgery to diffuse debilitating symptoms associated with these ills. Schermer (2013) explains that DBS treatment works by implanting electrodes roughly 1.27 mm in diameter, which emit successive electrical impulses, into specific regions deep within the brain. Over 35,000 patients worldwide have had successful brain stimulating implants to treat movement disorders (Schermer, 2013), for which the use of DBS treatment has earned approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Deep brain stimulation is also being researched to treat other …show more content…
The stimulation, which was intended to correct a case of obsessive-compulsive disorder, failed to treat the abnormal behavior, but rather resulted in a mental state of euphoria. Denys’ patient enjoyed her pleasant mood and requested him to keep the implant fixed, despite its inability to treat her disorder. Denys did not comply with her request because he felt that his duty was to address the behavior exclusively, and he believed that “trading happiness, instead of the relief of suffering,” would compromise the goals of medicine, which he deemed to be strictly the relief of symptoms (Schermer, 2013, p. 436). Because Denys was unable to achieve his goal of treating obsessive-compulsive behavior, and other doctors have met with similar frustration, we can conclude that more research is necessary before the disorder can be confidently treated with
Conditions of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and Addiction
Deep brain stimulation (DBS), a new form of psychiatric therapy, which emerged during the late 1980’s (Kraemer, 2013), opens a thrilling door of potential in the world of psychological medicine. Patients suffering from severe cases of Parkinson’s disease, dystonia, and essential tremor are turning to this effective neurosurgery to diffuse debilitating symptoms associated with these ills. Schermer (2013) explains that DBS treatment works by implanting electrodes roughly 1.27 mm in diameter, which emit successive electrical impulses, into specific regions deep within the brain. Over 35,000 patients worldwide have had successful brain stimulating implants to treat movement disorders (Schermer, 2013), for which the use of DBS treatment has earned approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Deep brain stimulation is also being researched to treat other …show more content…
The stimulation, which was intended to correct a case of obsessive-compulsive disorder, failed to treat the abnormal behavior, but rather resulted in a mental state of euphoria. Denys’ patient enjoyed her pleasant mood and requested him to keep the implant fixed, despite its inability to treat her disorder. Denys did not comply with her request because he felt that his duty was to address the behavior exclusively, and he believed that “trading happiness, instead of the relief of suffering,” would compromise the goals of medicine, which he deemed to be strictly the relief of symptoms (Schermer, 2013, p. 436). Because Denys was unable to achieve his goal of treating obsessive-compulsive behavior, and other doctors have met with similar frustration, we can conclude that more research is necessary before the disorder can be confidently treated with