Radioelectric brain stimulation in the treatment of generalized anxiety disorder with comorbid major depression in a psychiatric hospital: a pilot study

Abstract

Elisabetta Bourget Olivieri1, Caterina Vecchiato1, Nunziatina Ignaccolo1, Piero Mannu2, Alessandro Castagna2, Lucia Aravagli2, Vania Fontani2, Salvatore Rinaldi2,31Healthcare enterprise Hospital Trust S Croce and Carle Complex Structure of Psychiatry, Cuneo, Italy; 2Rinaldi Fontani Institute, Department of Neuro Psycho Physio Pathology, Florence, Italy; 3Medical School of Occupational Medicine, University of Florence, Florence, ItalyBackground: Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is often presented with major depression (MD). GAD-MD can be a chronic and disabling condition, and patients suffering from this disorder often respond poorly to psychopharmacological treatment and experience side effects with medication. Therefore, there is a high demand for effective nonpharmacological therapy for GAD-MD patients. The current study explores the use of a radioelectric asymmetric conveyer (REAC) device in the treatment of GAD-MD.Methods: Participants were 24 patients diagnosed with GAD-MD being treated at a public psychiatric center. All patients were dissatisfied with their current pharmacological treatment. Patients were evaluated using the 21-item Hamilton Depression (HAM-D) rating scale and the Symptom Check List-90-Revised (SCL-90R) before and after REAC brain stimulation treatment cycles.Results: After REAC brain stimulation treatment, all patients experienced a significant reduction in anxiety and depression. These results were confirmed by physician examination, HAM-D scores, and SCL-90R total scores.Conclusion: These results indicate a role for REAC brain stimulation in the management of psychiatric conditions, specifically, GAD-MD comorbidity. REAC treatments are synergistic to drug therapy and appear to be helpful in reducing the side effects of medication. Future studies should evaluate the long-term effects of REAC treatment.Keywords: anxiety disorders, depressive disorder, psychiatric somatic therapies, radioelectric asymmetric brain stimulation