As I read on the Triage health blog at the Chicago Tribune, deep brain stimulation (DBS) has been approved by the FDA as a treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).

Medtronic was given “humanitarian device exemption” for its DBS device based on the data: 26 patients were shown to have a 40% reduction in their symptoms after using the device for a year.

It seems like a rather extreme therapy for such a disorder, and based on rather a small data set.

Plus this is certain to be precedent setting. It is the first time, according to Triage, that DBS has been approved for a psychological disorder. One can only guess that others will be sure to follow.

Summer Johnson, PhD