The former shipbuilder had severe depression unrelieved by any of today's therapies, so sick he had trouble even leaving his house. The results are not definitive, he cautioned. The stimulator is essentially a brain pacemaker. A generator the size of a pocket watch is implanted into the chest.
Depression often accompanies epilepsy.
So manufacturer Cyberonics Inc. funded a pilot study of patients with untreatable depression not complicated by epilepsy. Because the nerve signals the brain when someone's stomach is full, Roslin implanted Cyberonics stimulators in dogs to see they suppressed appetite. For a week, the dogs continued to gulp whatever food was in sight. But gradually their appetite dropped, until eventually they left half their food uneaten each day and lost one-third of their weight. Roslin hopes to begin an implant study in obese New Yorkers early next year to see if they get the same effect.