World Society for Stereotactic
and Functional Neurosurgery

Ten years after a clinical report of DBS for refractory OCD (The Lancet 1999, 354:1526), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved deep brain stimulation (DBS) for treatment-refractory obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) as a humanitarian device exemption (HDE H050003, 2009) and a Conformité Européenne (CE mark, 2009) was obtained by Medtronic Inc.. Reimbursement became available in several EU countries. Evidence for safety and efficacy of DBS for treatment refractory OCD is increasing.

After 21 years of basic research and clinical trials, H. Wu et al. Molecular Psychiatry published the reasons why electrical stimulation for otherwise treatment refractory OCD using a multipolar electrode implanted in the ventral anterior capsule region (including bed nucleus of stria terminalis and nucleus accumbens) represents an emerging, but not yet established therapy. The authors are convinced that the medical community and the general public should be informed about the statement made in this manuscript, written under the auspices of the WSSFN and endorsed by, amongst others, a series of psychiatrists – co-authors.

H. Wu et al. Deep brain stimulation for refractory obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) : emerging or established therapy ?”, Molecular Psychiatry, 2020,  published.