Study published: Effects on heart rate viability with the treatment of brain stimulation
In a study recently published in the Upsala Journal of Medical Science, the researchers investigate the effects on heart rate viability (HRV) when treating patients with depressive episodes with magnetic brain stimulation. The authors found that the treatment had no effects on HRV.
It is common for patients with depression to have low levels of HRV as an outcome of psychosocial or lifestyle factors. This could mean a correlation between HRV and symptom changes in depression. However, it has been proven that antidepressant can change HRV, which makes the correlation between HRV and depression symptoms unreliable.
A non-pharmacological treatment for depression is magnetic brain stimulation. In the study, the researchers investigate the correlation between symptom changes in depression and changes in HRV when patients are treated with magnetic brain stimulation. The authors also examine if symptom changes can be predicted with HRV. 49 patients participated in the study.
The researchers did not find a correlation between changes in HRV and symptom changes. Neither could they see that HRV could be used as a predictor for treatment response. The authors draw the conclusion that more research is needed before HRV can be an acceptable predictor in depression treatment.
Read the full article ’No effects on heart rate variability in depression after treatment with dorsomedial prefrontal intermittent theta burst stimulation’. It is written by Johan Bengtsson, Erik Olsson, Jonas Persson, and Robert Bodén.