She does not feel dirty anymore

A 48-year-old woman from the Capital cured of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder through a brain implant, done for the first time in Asia

She does not feel dirty anymore

A 48-year-old woman from the Capital cured of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder through a brain implant, done for the first time in Asia

For about 20 years, 48-year-old Shakila Khan used to feel she might get 'contaminated' if she touched anything in her house. "Whenever I used to see anything, it appeared dirty to me. Day by day, it was getting difficult for me to feel normal. I did not feel like eating or drinking anything. Mentally also, I was becoming sick," said Shakila.

Condition worsens
Shakila was found to be suffering from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), a psychiatric behavioural disorder, which is common among the people, but whose diagnosis is quite low as those with OCD either deny it or at times even don't get to know that they are suffering from it.

Though she was undergoing medical treatment and had improved a lot, but about 8-9 years back she stopped medication and subsequently the OCD symptoms kept recurring and only worsened despite all kind of medications.

Dr Alok Gupta, Senior Consultant, Neurosurgeon at VIMHANS,
said the DBS therapy is mostly used in treating Parkinson's disease.
Pic/Mid Day

Her husband then took her to VIMHANS for treatment where after the initial assessment, the doctors decided that a Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) therapy might help her. "When she came to us, we felt that the best way to manage the disease at this stage would be through DBS therapy, which has been considerably used in treating Parkinson disease. Generally, there is no solution or treatment for these types of patients, but we tried a new technique for her," said Dr Alok Gupta, Senior Consultant, Neurosurgeon at VIMHANS.

Two-step surgery
"The surgery was conducted in two steps. In first step, electrodes were implanted in bilateral Nucleus Accumbens under MRI guidance and under local anesthesia and sedation. In second step, the leads were connected to pacemaker," added Dr Gupta.

After the surgery, the family members as well as the doctors noticed a phenomenal improvement in her condition as she started touching things on her own.

Recovery
"I was able to drink water on my own. It was a great feeling for me and my family members. Earlier, it was so difficult for me to touch anything, but now I am relieved," said a happy and cheerful Shakila. "At home, she does not require any assistance in her daily activities. She is more confident now and has developed more positive thinking," said Khan.

Apparently, this is the first time in Asia that the any patient suffering with OCD has been treated with Deep Brain Stimulation Therapy. Shakila's case will soon be presented at the international forum. "Significantu00a0u00a0 improvement was noted both subjectively and objectively while she was in the hospital itselfu00a0 as she ate by herself, touched things and went to toilet on her own, activities which she would have avoided earlier," said Dr Gupta.

OCDu00a0blues
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is an illness that causes people to have intrusive thoughts and to repeat certain behaviors over and over again. Symptoms may include repetitive handwashing; extensive hoarding; preoccupation with sexualu00a0 or aggressive impulses, or with particular religious beliefs; aversion to odd numbers; and nervous habits, such as opening a door and closing it a certain number of times before one enters or leaves a room.

What is Deep Brain Stimulation?
Nucleus Accumbans, (a deep seeded part in the brain) and its nearby structure control the excitatory pathways (they stimulate the brain to do an activity) and inhibitory pathways (they are responsible for stopping an activity) of the brain. In a normal human brain, there exists a fine balance between excitatory and inhibitory pathways. However, when the balance between the two pathways is disturbed or there is over activity of excitatory pathway, it has been implicated in the genesis of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Through Deep Brain Stimulation procedure, a pacemaker is implanted in Nucleus Accumbans which is stimulated through the battery implanted in upper part of the chest. This pacemaker stimulates the brain cells and tries to achieve the balance which is lost in OCD and controls the symptoms.

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