Researchers have learned a way to determine which patients suffering from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) could be benefited from surgery.
Doctors may be able to spot candidates for this surgery by looking at a key structure in the targeted brain region, reported WebMD. The procedure the short-circuiting of problematic brain networks.
Researchers in the study conducted MRI scans of 15 refractory OCD patients. All 15 of these patients previously underwent cingulotomy surgery.
Only about half of these patients (eight) responded positively to the surgery, reported WebMD.
In the MRI scans the researchers noticed that although the patients were all suffering from OCD, patents who responded well had different brain structures on the area being operated on than patients who had a negative response.
"These variations may allow us to predict which patients are most likely to respond to cingulotomy, thereby refining our ability to individualize this treatment for refractory psychiatric disorders," the authors wrote in their study, which was published Dec. 23 in JAMA Psychiatry.
As a result of the study, doctors will now be able to scan a patient's brain to look for the specific brain structure that appeared to respond well to the surgery. This will give patients who are operated on a better chance of improvement post-surgery, reported WebMD.
The results will also keep patients with the opposite brain structure from paying a sum of money and dealing with possible side effects from a surgery that may not be successful.
