Fighting Depression: "After 50 Years Without a Breakthrough, We've Achieved the Unthinkable"

Even before the current conflict, mental health centers are filled with patients, and it seems the numbers only continue to grow over time. It is challenging to endure such a tense period without mental support, and those who have always been in high-risk groups find themselves repeatedly exposed to anxiety attacks and, primarily, depression.

Mental health experts have already warned that more and more individuals are coming to them exhibiting symptoms of depression, representing an increase in the already high numbers, as globally, irrespective of the war, approximately 350 million people suffer from clinical depression. Unfortunately, there is no real cure for the disease, as existing medications do not offer healing; they only treat symptoms.

The Goal: Without Side Effects

About ten years ago, someone decided to lead a revolutionary idea regarding depression treatment. Dr. Avi Shoshani, a brain researcher living in Jerusalem, proposed creating a unique device to treat depression without drugs and without side effects. Dr. Shoshani is not a physician by profession, but he partnered with psychiatrist Dr. Gregory Katz, who has 38 years of experience in the field and runs a unit at the psychiatric hospital 'Kfar Shaul.' They were joined by three additional investors, and together they decided to promote the development of the device. "As of today," Dr. Shoshani excitedly shares, "the device we developed has already passed all the required clinical trials according to the Ministry of Health and the Helsinki Committee, it is also patented in several places worldwide, and today we can say with certainty that we have a device that can help those suffering from this severe illness."

What is this about, and what is this device?

"For fifty years, people suffering from depression have been receiving medications that impact specific areas in the brain called 'synapses'—this is where brain cells meet. The medication is supposed to affect these areas, thus alleviating depression episodes. However, over the years, the Western world gradually realized that despite their advantages, medications often come with side effects—sometimes severe, sometimes mild, but they almost always occur.

"We wanted to help people receive relief from depression without side effects, so we developed a fundamentally different paradigm. If until now, the paradigm focused on altering synapses, we do not operate in that brain area at all but rather on its somatosensory part. We cause the device to send various signals to the body, which reach the brain's sensomotor center responsible for all our body's sensations. From there, the signals move to another center called the 'frontal center' of the brain, where actions related to depression and other related phenomena occur. Consequently, after the patient undergoes treatment with the device several times, the severe depression symptoms decrease, and importantly, this occurs without any side effects."

Dr. Shoshani emphasizes that the reason there are no side effects is that the brain learns to "speak" a new language. "The brain, by its nature, is meant to learn, and when you transmit a series of signals containing a message, and the brain comprehends it, it slowly learns them. Once the brain learns, the patient manages to overcome the depression's side effects."

(In the picture: Dr. Avi Shoshani with the device he developed)

Ten Years of Research

The subject, it turns out, is more profound, and even the professional researchers Dr. Shoshani and his colleagues worked with required extensive research to understand the device's functioning and examine the unique and different response it provides.

But according to what you describe, the patient will have to use the device for their whole life, as it does not cure depression but merely alleviates it.

"To some extent, that's correct. Clinical depression, unlike any other illness, arises without a known and clear reason; therefore, its treatment cannot resemble solutions for ordinary diseases. For instance, if there is a heart disease, you widen blood vessels, and that's how you cure it. If there's an infection, you prescribe antibiotics. However, here it is evident that you cannot completely cure depression without knowing what causes it. But the good news is that the patient doesn't need to use the device all the time; even when suffering from depression, there aren't always attacks. As soon as they feel an attack approaching, they connect to the home device, preventing depression from developing." The connection to the device, according to Dr. Shoshani, lasts about 20 minutes, after which improvement is immediately felt.

It's a big responsibility to suggest people stop taking medications and use a device...

"We certainly do not suggest people stop taking medications. On the contrary, if a patient takes medications and feels they help, without experiencing special side effects, we recommend they continue taking them and do not offer the device. Our device is intended for situations where medications do not suffice or cause severe side effects. This is also why it is not distributed to anyone interested, but only by clinical psychiatrists. The most important thing is that the device has received approval from the Ministry of Health.

"Our idea is for psychiatrists first to treat with the device in their clinics, and only after they verify it is indeed helpful will they recommend the patient purchase the home device and self-treat. Each psychiatrist generally knows their patients well and understands their state, so there is no concern that they will spoil anything because if the situation is good as it is, there is no need for intervention."

Why did it take ten years to develop this device?

"First of all, we needed several years for the clinical trials we conducted. The trials were performed on a large and cumbersome device we called a 'prototype,' through which we tested the method on participants who showed remarkable results. It's important to emphasize that, to date, 100 individuals—both men and women, from teenage years to 80—were tested, but we did not test children, so at this stage, the device is not intended for them. All the participants in our trials were selected by a psychiatrist who knew their state personally and chose those with the heaviest depression, especially those for whom medications were inadequate or came with many side effects. The idea was to take the heaviest cases."

They then had to pass various committees which took more than five years. "Obviously, when you propose an idea different from the medications present for 50 years in the field, pharmaceutical companies are inclined to argue it's unnecessary and that 'everything's alright,' which is clearly not true. We had to tackle many obstacles along the way, but in the end, I'm very glad we didn't give up because now, after receiving approval from the Ministry of Health, we've been granted the opportunity to market the device and help many people."

Is it possible to obtain the device on the market these days?

"Not yet. At this stage, we are in the final stages of its production, and the goal is that within a year it will be marketed exclusively to psychiatrists to use in their clinics. Shortly after, we hope to launch the home version, offering the perfect solution."