A message for the depressed: Stimulate your vagus nerve, improve quality of life

Stimulating the vagus nerve can help a great deal to enhance quality of life among patients fighting depression, even when their signs have not wholly subsided.

This is great news for those suffering from the darkness of depression. While it is not so easy to improve the quality of life among those who are depressed, a recent study has shown that vagus nerve stimulation can bring in remarkable improvement in the quality of life. The researchers found that for patients with depression taking four or more antidepressants, vagus nerve stimulation acted wonders. The stimulation of this nerve sends regular, mild pulses of electrical energy to the brain through the vagus nerve originating in the brain, passing through the neck and going down to chest and abdomen. Deep diaphragmatic breathing with a long, slow exhale is the key vagus nerve stimulant according to another study conducted by a group of researchers in Switzerland.

Vagus nerve stimulation also ensures that these patients experience a better-quality life even when their symptoms of depression do not completely subside, reveals the same study conducted by a group of researchers from the Washington University in St. Louis. While the FDA had approved vagus nerve stimulation for treating treatment-resistant depression long back in 2005, the new study has actually shown that evaluating a patient's antidepressant response to stimulation cannot be an adequate indicator of his or her quality of life.

Charles R Conway, principal investigator of the study and professor of psychiatry at Washington University in St. Louis is reported to have said, "When evaluating patients with treatment-resistant depression, we need to focus more on their overall well-being." According to a latest media report, he added: "A lot of patients are on as many as three, four, or five antidepressant medications, and they are just barely getting by. But when you add a vagus nerve stimulator, it really can make a big difference in people's everyday lives."