Letter to the EditorA neuromodulation experience registry for deep brain stimulation studies in psychiatric research: Rationale and recommendations for implementation
Section snippets
Utility of a neuromodulation experience registry
The key arguments supporting implementation of a specific NER are mainly centered on patient safety and trial efficacy, yet they also serve many additional goals such as serving as a platform for data aggregation, regulatory oversight, and dissemination of innovative techniques (Box 1).
For example, meta-analysis of pooled aggregate data from multiple small trials linked in a registry may demonstrate heretofore unrecognized efficacy in a field marked by single case reports and small cohort
Conclusion
Although establishment of a NER faces many challenges and is an idea that needs to be refined, it is an idea whose time has come. In the light of the cautionary history of psychosurgery and the complexity of psychiatric disease, the establishment of a NER is one of the most instrumental steps the field can take right now.
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