Cortical Stimulation to Treat OCD
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04958096
Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is a treatment for severe, refractory OCD that is not responsive to medical and cognitive therapies. It involves the implantation of electrodes into the brain for the purpose of delivering electrical stimulation to disrupt abnormal activity that causes OCD. DBS is also regularly used to treat other neuropsychiatric disorders such as Parkinson's disease, other movement disorders, and epilepsy. While DBS is effective for many patients, approximately 30% of patients do not respond at the existing DBS subcortical target, which is in the ventral capsule/ventral striatum (VC/VS) region.
The purpose of this study is to investigate novel cortical targets for brain stimulation to treat OCD and to identify abnormal brain signals associated with OCD and psychiatric symptoms. While treating OCD with standard deep brain stimulation (DBS) therapy, additional electrodes will be implanted in the anterior cingulate and prefrontal cortex, regions known be involved with OCD, for the purposes of identify OCD-related signals and to determine whether stimulation delivered to these parts of the brain in addition to the subcortical VC/VS can improve OCD symptoms.
We are currently recruiting adults 22 and older with severe OCD (YBOCS>=28) to participate. To be eligible, patients must have trialed:
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at least 2 SSRIs at adequate doses
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augmentation with an antipsychotic
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Clomipramine
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at least 6 months of exposure response prevention therapy or have undergone an intensive therapy program
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TMS treatment for OCD
Please email [email protected] if you are interested in participating or have any questions about the study.