Method for treating eating disorders

• US 20080046013A1
• Filed: 08/14/2007
• Published: 02/21/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 08/15/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Andres M. Lozano
• Original Assignee: Andres M. Lozano
• Inventors: Lozano, Andres M.
• Granted Patent: US 8,909,342 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 607/3
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/0526 Head electrodes A61N1/0551 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/0529 Electrodes for brain stimulation
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/0531 Brain cortex electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/0534 Electrodes for deep brain stimulation
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/36082 Cognitive or psychiatric applications, e.g. dementia or Alzheimer's disease
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/36085 Eating disorders or obesity
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/36089 Addiction or withdrawal from substance abuse such as alcohol or drugs
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/36096 Mood disorders, e.g. depression, anxiety or panic disorder

Abstract

The present invention is a method for the treatment of eating disorders by nerve tissue stimulation and infusion techniques to one or more areas of the brain affecting hunger and satiety; palatability and aversion; hedonism; reward/addiction behavior; mood; anxiety; depression, taste and smell. The invention also comprises methods for the treatment of disorders of these individual behaviors and in particular, disorders of taste and/or smell.

Claims

1. A method for the treatment of one or more undesirable behaviors and/or disorders in a patient, the method comprising the use of deep brain stimulation (DBS) to target areas of the brain responsible for said undesirable behavior and/or disorder.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the undesirable behavior is an eating disorder, and the method comprises providing one or more stimuli to one or more areas of the brain that affect hunger and satiety;

palatability and aversion;

hedonism;

reward/addiction behavior;

mood;

anxiety;

depression; and

taste and smell.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein said eating disorder is selected from the group consisting of overeating resulting in obesity, bulimia, compulsive eating, pica, insufficient eating leading to anorexia, improper eating resultant of diabetes, and combinations thereof.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the undesirable behavior is an addiction and/or addiction behavior selected from the group consisting of compulsive gambling, alcohol, nicotine, food, drugs and disorders of smell and/or taste, the method comprising providing one or more stimuli to one or more areas of the brain that affect said behaviors.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein said disorder is of smell and/or taste and said method comprises providing one or more stimuli to one or more areas of the brain involved in taste and/or smell pathways.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein said stimulation may be applied to areas affecting taste selected from the group consisting of the ventral tegmental area, ventral striatum containing the nucleus accumbens, frontal operculum, dorsal insula, orbitofrontal cortex, amygdale and combinations thereof.

7. The method of claim 2, wherein said stimulation may be applied to areas of the brain and nervous tissue selected from the group consisting of hippocampus, insula, caudate, orbitofrontal cortex, anterior cingulated cortex, parahippocampal and hippocampal formation, thalamus, precuneus, putamen and cerebellum, ventromedial prefrontal cortex, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and inferior parietal lobule, insular and orbitofrontal cortex, nucleus accumbens, septal area, intralaminar nuclei of thalamus, PAG, PVG, amygdale, periaqueductal gray, periventricular grey, intralaminal thalamic nuclei, parietal operculum, parainsular cortex and combinations thereof.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein said method may further comprise applying stimulation in various combinations to one or more of the vagus nerve, trigeminal nerve, glossopharyngeal nerve, paraventricular nucleus, lateral hypothalamus, ventral medial hypothalamus and nucleus of the solitary tract.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein said deep brain stimulation is selected from the group consisting of electrical stimulation, pharmacological stimulation, magnetic stimulation, thermal stimulation, ultrasonic stimulation and combinations thereof.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein said electrical stimulation may be implemented by providing pulses to electrodes targeting areas of said brain, said pulses having amplitudes of about 0.1 to about 20 volts, pulse widths varying from about 0.02 to about 500 microseconds, and frequencies varying from about 1 to about 2500 Hz.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein said method comprises the use of one or more pharmacological agents concurrently with a selected stimulation and/or following a selected stimulation.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein said method comprises combinations of electrical stimulation and infusion of pharmacological agents at multiple brain sites.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein said stimulation is provided in one or more of the following:

a) intermittently,

b) intermittently with concurrent continuous pharmacological agent infusion;

c) alternating with pharmacological agent infusion;

d) simultaneously to one or more selected areas;

e) sequentially to one or more areas; and

f) a combination of d) and e).