Brain pacemaker could treat anorexia

Research published in The Lancet has suggested that people who have suffered anorexia for many years and failed to respond to conventional treatment could be effectively treated by a type of ‘pacemaker’ in their brain.

Doctors used electric pulses delivered deep into the brain – a former of Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) - to prevent weight loss in several women who had suffered the eating disorder for decades and although a pilot has so far only been used to assess its safety, the indications are that the technique might help some of the most seriously affected patients.

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