TY - JOUR
T1 - Antidepressant effect of vagal nerve stimulation in epilepsy patients
T2 - a systematic review
AU - On behalf of the Epilepsy Study Group of the Italian Neurological Society
AU - Assenza, Giovanni
AU - Tombini, Mario
AU - Lanzone, Jacopo
AU - Ricci, Lorenzo
AU - Di Lazzaro, Vincenzo
AU - Casciato, Sara
AU - Morano, Alessandra
AU - Giallonardo, Anna Teresa
AU - Di Bonaventura, Carlo
AU - Beghi, Ettore
AU - Ferlazzo, Edoardo
AU - Gasparini, Sara
AU - Giuliano, Loretta
AU - Pisani, Francesco
AU - Benna, Paolo
AU - Bisulli, Francesca
AU - De Falco, Fabrizio A.
AU - Franceschetti, Silvana
AU - La Neve, Angela
AU - Meletti, Stefano
AU - Mostacci, Barbara
AU - Sartucci, Ferdinando
AU - Striano, Pasquale
AU - Villani, Flavio
AU - Aguglia, Umberto
AU - Avanzini, Giuliano
AU - Belcastro, Vincenzo
AU - Bianchi, Amedeo
AU - Cianci, Vittoria
AU - Labate, Angelo
AU - Magaudda, Adriana
AU - Michelucci, Roberto
AU - Verri, Annapia
AU - Zaccara, Gaetano
AU - Pizza, Vincenzo
AU - Tinuper, Paolo
AU - Di Gennaro, Giancarlo
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2020, Fondazione Società Italiana di Neurologia.
Copyright:
Copyright 2020 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2020/11/1
Y1 - 2020/11/1
N2 - Background: Vagal nerve stimulation (VNS) is an effective palliative therapy in drug-resistant epileptic patients and is also approved as a therapy for treatment-resistant depression. Depression is a frequent comorbidity in epilepsy and it affects the quality of life of patients more than the seizure frequency itself. The aim of this systematic review is to analyze the available literature about the VNS effect on depressive symptoms in epileptic patients. Material and methods: A comprehensive search of PubMed, Medline, Scopus, and Google Scholar was performed, and results were included up to January 2020. All studies concerning depressive symptom assessment in epileptic patients treated with VNS were included. Results: Nine studies were included because they fulfilled inclusion criteria. Six out of nine papers reported a positive effect of VNS on depressive symptoms. Eight out of nine studies did not find any correlation between seizure reduction and depressive symptom amelioration, as induced by VNS. Clinical scales for depression, drug regimens, and age of patients were broadly different among the examined studies. Conclusions: Reviewed studies strongly suggest that VNS ameliorates depressive symptoms in drug-resistant epileptic patients and that the VNS effect on depression is uncorrelated to seizure response. However, more rigorous studies addressing this issue are encouraged.
AB - Background: Vagal nerve stimulation (VNS) is an effective palliative therapy in drug-resistant epileptic patients and is also approved as a therapy for treatment-resistant depression. Depression is a frequent comorbidity in epilepsy and it affects the quality of life of patients more than the seizure frequency itself. The aim of this systematic review is to analyze the available literature about the VNS effect on depressive symptoms in epileptic patients. Material and methods: A comprehensive search of PubMed, Medline, Scopus, and Google Scholar was performed, and results were included up to January 2020. All studies concerning depressive symptom assessment in epileptic patients treated with VNS were included. Results: Nine studies were included because they fulfilled inclusion criteria. Six out of nine papers reported a positive effect of VNS on depressive symptoms. Eight out of nine studies did not find any correlation between seizure reduction and depressive symptom amelioration, as induced by VNS. Clinical scales for depression, drug regimens, and age of patients were broadly different among the examined studies. Conclusions: Reviewed studies strongly suggest that VNS ameliorates depressive symptoms in drug-resistant epileptic patients and that the VNS effect on depression is uncorrelated to seizure response. However, more rigorous studies addressing this issue are encouraged.
KW - Depression
KW - Drug-resistant epilepsy
KW - Epilepsy
KW - Systematic review
KW - Vagal nerve stimulation
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U2 - 10.1007/s10072-020-04479-2
DO - 10.1007/s10072-020-04479-2
M3 - Review article
AN - SCOPUS:85086318779
VL - 41
SP - 3075
EP - 3084
JO - Neurological Sciences
JF - Neurological Sciences
SN - 1590-1874
IS - 11
ER -