Deep Brain Stimulation

• In class I had Mentioned that one of the treatments for Parkinson's Disease is deep brain stimulation. While it seems easy enough to understand that electrodes are placed in areas of the brain to stimulate and control movement, there is much more involved as far as placement and consequences of the treatment. Upon further exploration I found many interesting facts involving deep brain stimulations and even some videos of how the procedure works.





• In deep brain stimulation electrodes are placed in the sub cortical areas of the brain. There is a battery connected to the electrodes that is generally located in the collar bone region. Using a CT or MRI to monitor the surgery, a hole is drilled into the skull and the electrodes are carefully placed as well as tested for nerve stimulation. The job of the electrode is to stimulate neurons that have become dormant or less active. There are studies that have show that the use of deep brain stimulation paired with the common Parkinson's medication Levadopa has a greater response toward decreasing the movement issue symptoms in Parkinson's disease. While there is great success with the invasive procedure it does not come without consequences. Patients who have this implantation have seen a steep rise in infections compared to the Parkinson's patients just on the medication. Other side effects of the operation include stroke, change in mood, and overproduction of scar tissue. Patients who opt for this procedure must be willing to make a long term commitment to maintaining and monitoring the progress of the units within their brain. The battery must be changed regularly through surgery, and because of the sensitivity of the area stimulated by the electrodes progress must be continually monitored.






• Deep Brain Stimulation not only is a treatment for Parkinson's Disease, but has shown great potential in treating psychiatric disorders as well. Disorders such as depression, obsessive compulsive disorder, and phantom pain have also been exploring the world of deep brain stimulation with some pretty good results. While Parkinson's disease is a disease characterized by neuron death in the substancia nigra primarily as a result of inflammatory disease, it is interesting that a treatment for Parkinson's is transitional in other areas of medicine.






• There are some interesting videos showing the deep brain stimulation implantation on youtube. The one following I found interesting in explaining the implantation process.





• http://youtu.be/WW-SWAnphFU





• This other video is interesting because it shows a study that target the elderly which are predominately affected by the disease.





• http://youtu.be/WYDoHmg9ECl







• Other Sources and interesting articles on Deep Brain Stimulation:




• Pluta, R.M., Perazza, W.G.D., &Golub, R.M. (Feb 16, 2011). Deep Brain Stimulation. Jama-Journal of the American Medical Association, 305-7.





• Deuschl, G., Schade-Brittinger, C., Krack, P., Volkmann, J., Schafer, H., Botzel, K., Daniels, C,... German Parkinson Study Group, Neurostimulation Section. (Jan 1, 2011). A randomized trial of deep-brain stimulation for Parkinson's disease. The NEw England Journal of Medicine, 355-9, 896-908.