Photo by Anna Shvets via Pexels

By Stephen Beech

Half of patients with anxiety and depression have been successfully treated using deep-brain stimulation.

More than a third (34.6%) saw a "near-complete" elimination of their symptoms, according to a new study.

The technique - which involves implants in the brain that act as a type of "pacemaker" – led to clinical improvements in one in two participants with treatment-resistant severe depression in the trial.

The study, led by researchers in the UK and China, also identified a "tell-tale" signature of brain activity that predicted how well individual patients responded to the treatment.

The breakthrough could be used in future to allow personalized treatment of those patients most likely to benefit, say scientists.

Major depressive

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