Patients With No Antidepressant Effect, Brainwave Analysis Suggests Customized Treatment
Feb 12, 2025
About 30% of depressed patients do not respond to antidepressant treatment. However, patients are burdened with time and cost because existing treatments are carried out by prescribing drugs to patients once, and then trying other drugs if they don't work.
Recently, a research team led by Professor Lee Seung-hwan of the Department of Mental Health Medicine at Inje University Ilsan Paik Hospital found a clue to solve this problem.
The research team analyzed brain waves (EEG) of depressive patients and identified the characteristics of EEG signals that can predict the reactivity of antidepressants by measuring the function of brain neural networks.
The findings were published in the latest issue of the prestigious international journal Psychological Medicine.
◇ Attention and emotional control affect treatment responsiveness
The research team compared and analyzed EEG data from 367 depressed patients (98 treatment resistance and 269 treatment response) and 131 healthy adults. Results showed that patients with treatment-resistant depression had weak connectivity of certain brain networks responsible for attention and emotion regulation.
In particular, the connection between the frontal eye area and the parietal lobe was weakened. This area is responsible for delicate emotional regulation, impulse regulation, sociality, and attention control, and if this connection is weak, it is likely to cause failure of emotional regulation or poor social function and concentration on external stimuli and stick to negative thoughts.
In addition, treatment-resistant patients had poor compensation circuit function, so even after taking antidepressants, the effect of improving mood was not significant.
All groups of depressed patients (including treatment resistance) showed hyperactivation of the posterior cortex. The posterior cortex is a brain region that is responsible for reflecting on itself, and excessive activity in this region is associated with repeated negative thinking. This is a clue that can explain why depressive patients are trapped in inner thinking and cannot easily escape.
According to the results of the study, patients with treatment-resistant depression showed weak connectivity in the brain area (front eye region, parietal lobe) responsible for ▲ attention control, ▲ decreased emotional control and compensation circuit function, and ▲ excessive activity of the posterior cortex, which serves to reflect on oneself.
◇ Presenting the possibility of customized treatment of depression through brain wave tests
This study has an important meaning in that it can predict the treatment responsiveness of depressed patients using electroencephalography. The research team expects that if EEG tests are standardized in the future, patients who are likely to have low antidepressant reactivity in early diagnosis of depression can be selected in advance and customized treatment can be applied. Currently, Professor Lee Seung-hwan has established and operated a digital mental healthcare company called 'BWave Co., Ltd.' since 2019 for commercial purposes of electroencephalography.
The research team also expects that it will be easier to select patients with high therapeutic responsiveness in new drug development and clinical trials, and contribute to reducing new drug development costs and improving clinical trial success rates for domestic and foreign pharmaceutical companies.
In addition, alternative treatments such as electrical brain stimulation therapy (TMS) and cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) can be considered for patients who have difficulty in drug treatment, which is expected to reduce unnecessary trial and error and quickly find the best treatment.
Professor Lee Seung-hwan "This study confirmed the possibility of establishing a customized treatment strategy for each patient, breaking away from the existing method of treating depression uniformly."If treatment resistance is predicted early through brain wave analysis, the optimal treatment can be found without unnecessary trial and error, which will be a new hope for patients with treatment-resistant depression."
Recently, a research team led by Professor Lee Seung-hwan of the Department of Mental Health Medicine at Inje University Ilsan Paik Hospital found a clue to solve this problem.
The research team analyzed brain waves (EEG) of depressive patients and identified the characteristics of EEG signals that can predict the reactivity of antidepressants by measuring the function of brain neural networks.
The findings were published in the latest issue of the prestigious international journal Psychological Medicine.
◇ Attention and emotional control affect treatment responsiveness
The research team compared and analyzed EEG data from 367 depressed patients (98 treatment resistance and 269 treatment response) and 131 healthy adults. Results showed that patients with treatment-resistant depression had weak connectivity of certain brain networks responsible for attention and emotion regulation.
In particular, the connection between the frontal eye area and the parietal lobe was weakened. This area is responsible for delicate emotional regulation, impulse regulation, sociality, and attention control, and if this connection is weak, it is likely to cause failure of emotional regulation or poor social function and concentration on external stimuli and stick to negative thoughts.
In addition, treatment-resistant patients had poor compensation circuit function, so even after taking antidepressants, the effect of improving mood was not significant.
All groups of depressed patients (including treatment resistance) showed hyperactivation of the posterior cortex. The posterior cortex is a brain region that is responsible for reflecting on itself, and excessive activity in this region is associated with repeated negative thinking. This is a clue that can explain why depressive patients are trapped in inner thinking and cannot easily escape.
According to the results of the study, patients with treatment-resistant depression showed weak connectivity in the brain area (front eye region, parietal lobe) responsible for ▲ attention control, ▲ decreased emotional control and compensation circuit function, and ▲ excessive activity of the posterior cortex, which serves to reflect on oneself.
◇ Presenting the possibility of customized treatment of depression through brain wave tests
This study has an important meaning in that it can predict the treatment responsiveness of depressed patients using electroencephalography. The research team expects that if EEG tests are standardized in the future, patients who are likely to have low antidepressant reactivity in early diagnosis of depression can be selected in advance and customized treatment can be applied. Currently, Professor Lee Seung-hwan has established and operated a digital mental healthcare company called 'BWave Co., Ltd.' since 2019 for commercial purposes of electroencephalography.
The research team also expects that it will be easier to select patients with high therapeutic responsiveness in new drug development and clinical trials, and contribute to reducing new drug development costs and improving clinical trial success rates for domestic and foreign pharmaceutical companies.
In addition, alternative treatments such as electrical brain stimulation therapy (TMS) and cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) can be considered for patients who have difficulty in drug treatment, which is expected to reduce unnecessary trial and error and quickly find the best treatment.
Professor Lee Seung-hwan "This study confirmed the possibility of establishing a customized treatment strategy for each patient, breaking away from the existing method of treating depression uniformly."If treatment resistance is predicted early through brain wave analysis, the optimal treatment can be found without unnecessary trial and error, which will be a new hope for patients with treatment-resistant depression."
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This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
