New Depression Treatment Guidelines Include Brain Stimulation and Blood Filtration Procedures

Russia's Ministry of Health has proposed a significant update to the country's national standard for the treatment of depression, expanding the range of therapeutic procedures and diagnostic tests available to patients. The draft order, reviewed by TASS, is expected to replace the treatment standard that has been in force since 2022. Under the proposed standard, patients diagnosed with depression could receive a number of additional treatment options, including electroacupuncture using extremely high-frequency electrical currents, brain electro-neurostimulation, transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), plasmapheresis, blood ultrafiltration, and low-intensity laser therapy involving intravenous blood irradiation. Broader Range of Therapeutic Procedures The updated draft also includes several other supportive treatment methods. Among them are electroencephalography (EEG)-based biofeedback training for disorders affecting the central nervous system and the brain, hypoxic therapy, and treatment using visible-spectrum light radiation.