New technologies stimulate brain to treat psychiatric conditions.The Wall Street Journal (1/11, D3, Beck, subscription required) reports in "Health Journal" that new therapies in which the brain is stimulated by magnets, infrared waves, electricity, or ultrasound are showing promise in treating intractable depression and may even help treat other conditions, such as panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and even addictions. Now, some companies are even beginning to market battery-operated brain-stimulation devices that can be used at home for the treatment of depression or insomnia. The column also pointed out that the Food and Drug Administration will conduct a hearing later this month on electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), which the agency had grandfathered in as a treatment for depression in 1976 without extensive clinical trial data. Some critics of ECT say that it may leave patients with cognitive problems or dementia.
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