DBS on Parkinson’s

DiseaseBy: Christopher Ross DeSantoBME 181 / February 11, 2010

What is Parkinson’s Disease ?

Parkinson’s Disease

•Neuro-degenerative Disorder

•Dopamine Deficiency

•Causes emotional and physical complications

• Affects Substantia Nigra

Physiology

of

Parkinson’s

Current Treatments of Parkinson’s

• No cure for Parkinson’s

• Most Parkinson’s patients are on a drug regimen

• Parkinson’s Disease medication target symptoms only

• No medication ensures life-long stability

• Most common drug today is Levodopa

• Levodopa is converted into dopamine

• Does not produce dopamine receptive cells

• Does not stimulate cells to take in dopamine

• DBS is an alternative to Levodopa

Deep Brain Stimulation

What is DBS?

• A Deep Brain Stimulator is a device called a brain pace maker that is implanted into the brain.

• Connected to an IPG (implanted pulse generator)

• Sends electric pulses to the brain that stimulate dopamine production

• Placed on the VIM of the brain

DBS

• A reversible procedure

•Requires skull penetration

•Nodes placed directly on brain (lead)

• Lead carries the charge

Statistics• 80% of patients experience little to

no tremors after DBS use

• For some patients medication is still needed but for all it reduces dosage needed

• DBS has been reported to work for 4 to 6 years.

• Everyone responds differently

• Known to cause loss of feeling in face or limbs

How DBS Came To Be

•Cures for Parkinson’s began in 1909

• Involved dangerous lesions to the brain (lobotomies)

• 1947 created Stereo- encephalotome

• Placed electric nodes over VIM section of brain

• VIM still utilized today against Parkinson’s with DBS

Modern DBS Technology

•New technology being made yearly

• Recently: RLS treatments

• Sleep Disorder cure

• Significant data has been found that it works better with those acute/ severe symptoms

Modern Applications of DBS

Where I see DBS going ...

Questions?