Benefits

VNS Therapy provides improvements in mood that last long term¹

Adding VNS Therapy has been shown to succeed when other antidepressant treatments have not. The effectiveness of VNS Therapy improves over time and lasts long term. While some people experience benefits from VNS Therapy within a few weeks, many see benefits over several months.¹ After 1 year, 1 in 3 people receiving VNS Therapy experienced significant mood improvements, compared with 1 in 8 people receiving only other antidepressant treatments.² Many people who did not respond immediately to VNS Therapy did experience improvement over time. Most people who responded to VNS Therapy maintained improvement long term. For some people, VNS Therapy reduces the need for antidepressant medications over time.

VNS Therapy provides significant and lasting improvements in quality of life³

In addition to experiencing long-term improvements in mood, many VNS Therapy patients and their psychiatrists report significant and lasting improvements in:

• Vitality
• Social functioning
• Emotional well-being
• Mental health

"The prospect of VNS Therapy gave me something that I had not had in a very long time, and that was hope."

—Karmen, VNS Therapy since 1999, with her mother and daughter

Listen to this quote

"Clinical trials have revealed...that 1 in 3 individuals over the course of a year developed a substantial clinical response. And in fact, roughly half of those achieve a remission, an absence of symptoms."

—A. John Rush, MD, Vice Chair, Department of Clinical Sciences Professor, Department of Psychiatry University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas

sReferences:
1. Rush AJ, Sackeim HA, Marangell LB, et al. Effects of 12 months of vagus nerve stimulation in treatment-resistant depression: a naturalistic study. Biol Psychiatry. 2005;58:355-363. 2. George MS, Rush AJ, Marangell LB, et al. A one-year comparison of vagus nerve stimulation with treatment as usual for treatment-resistant depression. Biol Psychiatry. 2005;58:364-373. 3. Depression Physician's Manual. VNS Therapy Pulse Model 102 Generator and VNS Therapy Pulse Duo Model 102R Generator. Houston, Tex: Cyberonics, Inc.; May 2005.