MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Advanced Brain + Body Clinic Ketamine TMS (AB+BC), specialists in treatment-resistant depression and other severe mental health conditions, added Vagus Nerve Stimulation (VNS) as an FDA-approved, non-medication treatment option for severe or bipolar depression. VNS has a 70% success rate when used for treatment resistant depression, meaning the patient hasn’t responded to traditional antidepressants.

“VNS could be the ‘ketamine reduction’ device providing a safe, enduring treatment beyond ketamine regimens,” said AB+BC co-founder Stephen Manlove, MD. “It gives treatment-resistant mental health patients a vital 3rd option in addition to ketamine and esketamine, fast-acting and life-saving medications, and Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS), which is also a non-pharmaceutical treatment option and completely non-invasive.”

Not to be confused with Deep Brain Stimulation, which requires brain surgery, Vagus Nerve Stimulation for depression involves a small device implanted just below the skin in the upper chest, similar to a pacemaker. VNS stimulates the vagus nerve, triggering its natural process of sending electrical pulses to the parts of the brain that control mood. It may be a good fit for patients who:

• are 18 years or older and suffering from chronic or severe depression or bipolar depression
• experienced depressive symptoms for at least 2 years or sought treatment several times
• feel depression has impacted their quality of life
• want to avoid the side effects that antidepressant medications and other treatments can cause

“VNS is a proven treatment that has been around for many years and used in over 130,000 people, including children,” said AB+BC co-founder Brian H. Johns, MD. “With recent advancements in the VNS technology and implantable devices, it has become much more accessible to the patients who need it most.”

Insurance and Medicare Coverage

As always, AB+BC will work with your private or employer-provided insurance to help patients receive coverage for VNS treatment. For Medicare patients, AB+BC is now actively enrolling patients in the Medicare-approved RECOVER clinical study which includes coverage for qualified participants suffering from treatment-resistant depression and bipolar disorder. RECOVER is a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study developed by device manufacturer LivaNova in accordance with evidence-based standards set by the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).

For more information about Vagus Nerve Stimulation and what to expect, visit Advanced Brain and Body Clinic’s VNS page.

Appointments Available Now: 612-682-4912

About AB+BC

Advanced Brain + Body Clinic Ketamine TMS is an interventional psychiatry clinic in Minneapolis-St. Paul specializing in the treatment of mental health conditions with innovative approaches, including TMS, ketamine/esketamine (Spravato), VNS, novel psychiatric medications and holistic brain health. Our two founding psychiatrists are board-certified physicians with decades of experience. AB+BC offers ketamine via IV, IM, nasal and oral administration covered by some insurers.

About Dr. Brian H. Johns, MD

Dr. Brian Johns is a Minneapolis psychiatrist at Advanced Brain + Body Clinic and a mental health leader who helped shape ketamine treatment for depression in Minnesota and the nation. He co-authored a Minnesota VA Hospital medical trial to open the door for ketamine treatment to change–from a revolving-door hospital intervention, to an ongoing regimen at an outpatient clinic–while setting the benchmark for ketamine infusions nationwide. He then developed the region’s first ketamine infusion clinic. Over the past several years, he has administered or overseen thousands of ketamine treatments.

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