A study released this week in the Journal of the American Medical Association finds that a technique called deep brain stimulation can offer new hope to people suffering with Parkinson’s Disease, an incurable brain disease that disrupts movement. In the largest study yet of deep brain stimulation, patients who received the treatment showed dramatic improvements in their movements compared to patients taking drugs, the standard Parkinson’s treatment.

The study, which followed about 250 Parkinson’s patients for six months, showed that for 71 percent of patients, deep brain stimulation reduced tremors, lessened rigidity, and gave patients an extra four and a half hours of good motor functioning each day. Their quality of life and emotional well-being also improved.

However, the study also found that deep brain stimulation is not without risks. The highly invasive technique, approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2002 for advanced Parkinson's disease, involves implanting electrodes deep within the brain and connecting them to an electrical device implanted in the abdomen or chest. The device then produces a small current that flows through the electrodes and into the brain at regular intervals, kind of like a “brain pacemaker.” This current disables overactive brain cells that inhibit movement and cause tremors.

Parkinson’s disease occurs when, for unknown reasons, cells in a small part of the brain called the substantia nigra die. These cells normally release the neurotransmitter dopamine, which helps the body produce smooth movements. Parkinson’s patients face an inevitable decline in their ability to move, but symptoms can be improved by the use of drugs that help the brain produce more dopamine. Unfortunately, these drugs often lose their effectiveness over time, leaving patients desperate to find a new approach.

About 40 percent of the patients who received the implants suffered serious side effects, including infections, falls, and one patient who died of a ruptured blood vessel subsequent to the surgery. The falls may have been due to improved movement ability, as patients tried to do activities they may not have performed in years – one man fell off his roof while attempting repairs. A few surgery patients (about 3 percent) actually got worse.

While deep brain stimulation appears to improve movement for many patients, it does not cure the disease or prevent it from worsening over time. It also does not improve non-motor symptoms that often occur with Parkinson’s including problems with thinking, memory, or speech. Also, it is unclear if deep brain stimulation continues to benefit patients indefinitely or whether it, like Parkinson’s drugs, will lose its effectiveness over time.

Not everyone is a good candidate for the deep brain stimulation, but if you or a loved one has advanced Parkinson’s disease, talk to a healthcare professional to find out if the treatment is appropriate. The implantation procedure costs around $60,000 but it is covered by Medicare and also by some insurance companies.

For more information on Parkinson’s disease, join the Healia Health Community on Parkinson’s disease.


_{Photo: borya, Flickr, Creative Commons}