Deep brain stimulation for obsessive-compulsive disorder

Abstract

Neurosurgical interventions have been used for decades to treat severe, refractory obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is a neurosurgical procedure that is used routinely to treat movement disorders such as Parkinson's disease and essential tremor. Over the past two decades, DBS has been applied to OCD, building on earlier experience with lesional procedures. Promising results led to Humanitarian Device Exemption (HDE) approval of the therapy from the United States Food and Drug Administration in 2009. In this review, the authors describe the development of DBS for OCD, the most recent outcome data, and areas for future research.