Therapy with Potential for Millions Suffering from Mental Depression Receives Second United States Patent
Deerfield, IL (PRWEB) April 13, 2017 -- With increasing confidence and now a second patent, researchers at a Deerfield, IL medical clinic have developed and are applying a combination therapy that holds promise for millions of Americans suffering from mental depression that is resistant to conventional care.
By combining two accepted treatments, innovators led by Steve Best, M.D., director of the Neuroscience Center, Deerfield, IL, have discovered a therapeutic method that benefits even long-troubled patients who suffer conditions ranging from suicidal inclinations to substance abuse and also chronic neuropathic pain. Pain patients have been able to discontinue or dramatically reduce opioid use.
Dr. Best, who is also the Medical Director at Abbott House in Highland Park, IL and a member of the board of directors of the Cook County North Suburban affiliate of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, received word of the second patent award during the first week of April, 2017.
“The patent granted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is added validation for the combination therapy we are applying when we help patients suffering from mental depression. Very often, the same patients are troubled by chronic pain,” Dr. Best said.
Subspecialty-trained in Neuropsychiatry, Dr. Best came to believe that emotional pain and chronic pain are linked and can be addressed most successfully with a combination of two medically accepted therapies. The novelty of Dr. Best’s insight lies in discovering a synergistic effect from the combining of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) applied along with ketamine.
According to The Neuroscience Center, the combination therapy can be performed in the outpatient setting, does not require general anesthesia, and has no effect on a patient’s memory. The patented method is reliably effective for the treatment of depression and chronic pain, even for patients who are unable to find relief from conventional therapies and even in cases of substance abuse.
Dr. Best and The Neuroscience Center have found that, during the six years of study, as many as ninety percent of the patients have been able to reach some form of remission. "That means the person is able to return to work and leave the disability roll. They’re able to mend broken marriages, families, and resume their lives,” Dr. Best said. “So far, results have lasted up to six years."
With medical professionals saying that ten million Americans have mental depression not responding to conventional therapies, and that as many as 40 percent of Americans suffer from chronic pain, why is the promising combination therapy found at a handful of locations worldwide instead of in widespread use?
“Medical science is careful and costly,” Dr. Best said. “For example, a small pilot study examining only two forms of the combination can approach one million dollars in cost. Then, if that study involving 40 patients is statistically successful, additional studies will examine new combinations. And so on. We hope for that day. In the meantime, what we are seeing increases our confidence and our enthusiasm.”
In addition to the notice of the second patent award, Dr. Best and the researchers are heartened by the growing interest other medical researchers are showing in the combination therapy. During 2016, the world medical community learned of the innovation through reports in a half dozen global medical journals. Dr. Best is also in contact with other U.S. and Brazilian university groups engaged in complementary research paths.
“The time is coming when this combination therapy will be utilized proactively and commonly in complex cases to prevent multiple treatment failures,” Dr. Best said. “This will improve the quality of life for millions.”
###
Steve Best, M.D., Neuroscience Center, http://www.neurosciencechicago.com/, +1 (847) 236-9310, [email protected]
Share this article