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Electroencephalogram (EEG)

Use of EEG technology to match brain patterns with the right medication.

Technologies such as EEGs (eletroencephalograms), used to measure electrical activity in the brain, are used to match abnormal brain patterns with the improvements found using a specific drug or a combination of drugs.

rEEG study on its effectiveness to predict best medication choices

Dr. Mark Schiller, Founder and Medical Director of the MindTherapy Clinic is helping to prove that referenced-EEG “(rEEG)” guided pharmacotherapy represents an easy, relatively inexpensive, objective office procedure that builds upon clinical judgment to guide antidepressant medication choice.” In partnership with his co-authors and researchers at Stanford, Harvard, Rush University, UC Irvine, and others, Dr. Schiller’s research showed that patients with treatment resistant depression whose prescribing was guided by the rEEG improved at a statistically significant rate over control subjects whose treatment decisions were driven by the National Institute of Health’s treatment protocol known as STAR*D, an industry standard.
No data was found

rEEG - What to Expect

What is it exactly?
Referenced EEG [rEEG] is not a cure-all. But, for many patients it gives a non-invasive, relatively inexpensive way to obtain a set of brain measures that guide medication choices much more effectively than conventional methods alone. This is based on previous research that has shown EEG’s usefulness to predict treatment response in depression including a study that used frontal lobe EEG examination to identify a biomarker that can predict the effectiveness of a particular SSRI. Referenced EEG differs from a standard EEG (QEEG) by comparing the findings to a database of normals and then to a database of individuals who are symptomatic for depression.
How was the study conducted?
One group, the control group, received depression therapy based on a treatment algorithm designed to use the most effective medications suggested by the STAR*D treatment protocol. The other group received rEEG-guided therapy, the protocol under investigation. All subjects completed a washout period from their current medications (medically managed) and any other psychoactive substances prior to receiving either the control or the rEEG. Depression levels were measured using symptom checklists.
What was the result?
Participants whose medication choices were guided by the rEEG protocol reported significantly less depression than their STAR*D treated counterparts. On the QIDs-SR16 (depression measure) the magnitude of improvement was 65% for rEEG compared to only 39% for the controls. Similar findings were obtained on the Q-LES-Q-SF as well as on 9 of the 12 secondary outcome measures employed. Week to week analysis showed statistically increasing improvement in the rEEG group demonstrating its superiority in reducing patients’ depressive symptoms.
No data was found
No data was found

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