The following report by medical editor Marilyn Brooks first aired on Channel 4 Action News at 5 p.m. on May 8, 2006.

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When talking about traditional treatments for clinical depression, topics of discussion often include medication and even shock therapy.

But a study at Brown University and the Cleveland Clinic is looking at deep brain stimulation for the most severe cases.

For the first time in seven years, Cindy Warren is enjoying the spring.

She has spent seven years battling a crippling depression -- the kind that can kill.

"Everybody realized how bad it was because I made a pretty serious attempt at suicide," Warren said.

She survived only to realize no medicine or therapy could stop her suicidal thoughts.

"I have a great husband. I have a great family. And I couldn't figure out why I couldn't be happy," Warren said.

When she exhausted all other treatment options, she became she was a candidate for a unique study.

Researchers want to know if a potentially risky procedure that can stop tremors in Parkinson's patients can also help treat major depression.

"It's a very precise surgery. You have to be precise to one millimeter, otherwise you may be in the wrong place," said Dr. Ali Rezai of the Cleveland Clinic.

It's called deep brain stimulation, a process that includes using high resolution imaging surgeons place tiny electrical leads in the area of the brain that controls mood.

Pacemakers are implanted in the chest and connected to those electrical devices. The signals help fine-tune abnormal brain activity.

"It improves their mood so patients can go about living their life more fuller and not be so disabled by their condition," Rezai said.

Preliminary results show one year after surgery, two-thirds of the people in the study -- including Warren -- had a significant reduction in the severity of their depression.

Despite the risk, Warren feels the procedure was worth it. She has already taken a couple of vacations, including one to the Carribean. And Warren no longer has suicidal thoughts.

Despite its effectiveness, insurance companies refuse to pay for deep brain stimulation for clinical depression.

That may change once this study is over.

Meanwhile, researchers are now studying this treatment in obsessive compulsive disorder -- a condition in which people have little or no control over repetitive behavior like washing their hands.

Preliminary results find after two years those patients also improve.