The Russian Ministry of Health has updated the standard treatment… (депрессия · лечение · стандарт)
The Russian Ministry of Health has updated the standard treatment protocol for depression, incorporating various methods including electroacupuncture, intravenous laser blood irradiation (VLOK), plasmapheresis, and others. A psychiatrist, Artem Giliev, criticized these methods as lacking evidence-based support and being inconsistent with international medical practice. Another psychiatrist, Alexander Fedorovich, questioned the feasibility of implementing these new standards nationwide due to high costs and need for specialized equipment and trained personnel.
Consensus
- The Russian Ministry of Health has updated the standard treatment protocol for depression
- New methods included in the updated standard include electroacupuncture, intravenous laser blood irradiation (VLOK), plasmapheresis, and others
- Both psychiatrists criticized the lack of evidence-based support for these new treatments
Points of divergence
- The psychiatrist Artem Giliev stated that VLOK is not applied in world practice and considers it to be nonsense with no scientific basis, comparing its level of evidence to folk medicine practices like using plantain by grandmothers — vm
- Psychiatrist Alexander Fedorovich emphasized the financial and logistical challenges of implementing these new standards across Russia due to expensive equipment and need for trained personnel, suggesting only large cities or regional capitals might be able to implement them in limited cases — vesti
Coverage (5 sources)
- Psychiatrist Gilev comments on new depression treatment standards — Вечерняя Москва
- Psychiatrist Doubts Feasibility of New Depression Treatment Standard — Вести
- How Russia Treats Depression: Electroconvulsive Therapy and Other Methods — Вечерняя Москва
- Ministry of Health to Update Depression Treatment Guidelines by Adding Plasmaferesis — Вести
- Russia's Ministry of Health to Update Depression Treatment Guidelines — Вечерняя Москва