 |
 |
Friday February 23 5:27 PM ET System May Help Individualize Parkinson's Therapy By Amy Norton NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Mapping brain responses to a Parkinson's disease treatment known as deep brain stimulation may help doctors tailor the therapy to individual patients' needs, new research suggests. Deep brain stimulation, or DBS, is typically used for patients whose anti-Parkinson's drugs are failing to control their tremors and movement problems. The tactic involves implanting electrodes that discharge signals in particular brain regions linked to the movement disorder. This calms the brain overactivity that triggers Parkinson's symptoms. In a new study, researchers used brain scans to link changes in specific brain ``circuits'' to various improvements in Parkinson's patients' symptoms. Such an understanding should allow doctors to adjust individual patients' DBS treatment to maximize their disease improvements, Dr. David Eidelberg of North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, New York, explained in an interview with Reuters Health. Eidelberg and his colleagues report their findings in the February issue of the Annals of Neurology. Eidelberg's team studied brain activity in six Parkinson's patients who were being treated with DBS. The researchers observed the patients as they performed simple reaching movements. They found that overall, when patients' brain stimulation was ``on,'' symptoms such as sluggish movement improved. But the extent of patients' improvements varied, and these variations were related to specific differences in brain activity. The hope for the future, according to Eidelberg, is to routinely look at DBS patients' brain activity in order to tailor treatment--for instance, adding more ``juice'' to a patient's electrical stimulation. More than half a million Americans suffer from Parkinson's disease, a movement disorder that over time can rob patients of their ability to walk, speak and perform even simple tasks. The exact cause remains a mystery, but the disease is marked by the loss of the brain chemical dopamine, which helps regulate movement. Parkinson's treatments, including DBS, can help alleviate symptoms caused by this dopamine loss. SOURCE: Annals of Neurology http://dailynews.yahoo.com/htx/nm/20010223/hl/parkinsons_1.html ***********