TEXTO:
Anna had been depressed for much of her adult
life, seeking a range of treatments that might help her
condition. She took anti-depressants, underwent
psychotherapy and even experienced electroconvulsive
[5] therapy – which involves passing electricity through the
whole brain.
Treatments like these were only effective for short
periods, and her depression would soon return. Another
issue she faced was that she was morbidly obese,
[10] weighing 183kg. This resulted in severely limited
mobility which, naturally, exacerbated her depression,
putting in place a vicious circle of poor health.
Gastric bypass surgery helped her lose some
weight but not as much as expected from such a
[15] procedure, and it had little impact on her depression.
As a last resort treatment, psychiatrists took a drastic
decision to implant an electrical device in her brain, an
invasive therapy known as deep brain stimulation. It’s
a treatment that’s already frequently used to alleviate
[20] the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease and epilepsy.
Not only did this treatment significantly help her
depression, it had another astonishing outcome – she
lost more weight than she had with any previous
treatment, losing almost 50% more weight (2.8kg or
[25] 6.1lbs) per month than she had done after the gastric
bypass surgery. Thomas Munte, the neurologist who
treated Anna, says that while the initial goal was to treat
her depression, the weight loss was the “secondary
target” of the surgery. In her case, the two were
[30] seemingly linked.
That Anna successfully lost weight following the
treatment is opening up new discussions about how to
tackle what we know is a world-wide epidemic. It is
also revealing that in some rare cases, the brain can
[35] be “de-tuned” from debilitating behaviors, like addiction.
HOGENBOOM, Melissa. Disponível em: <www.bbc.com/future/story/ 20180312-how-deep-brain-stimulation-silenced-food-cravings>. Acesso em: 13 maio 2018.
Anna’s treatment with deep brain stimulation
