Brain stimulation for late-life depression: a review

Abstract

The burden of depression in older adults is enormous. Apart from being highly prevalent, late-life depression is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. While pharmacotherapy and psychological interventions remain as the mainstay of treatment, evidence supporting treatment using brain stimulating technologies is emerging. In the current article, the efficacy of four brain stimulating technologies including electroconvulsive therapy, repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation, transcranial direct current stimulation, and deep brain stimulation as treatment for older adults with depressive disorders is reviewed.

長者抑鬱症造成的負擔十分巨大，它不但非常普遍，亦增加長者患病及死亡的風險。雖然藥物治療和心理干預仍是主要的治療方法，愈來愈多證據支持使用腦刺激技術來治療長者抑鬱症。這文章檢視四類腦刺激技術，包括腦電盪治療、非入侵性透顱磁力腦刺激、經顱直流電刺激和深部腦刺激治療老年抑鬱症的療效。