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> Subject: ARTICLE: KU doctors help pioneer procedure that stimulates brain > From: Murray Charters <[log in to unmask]> > Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2001 23:24:25 -0700 The Topeka Capital-Journal Last modified at 11:27 p.m. on Tuesday, July 10, 2001 KU doctors help pioneer procedure that stimulates brain Neurological disorder: Device has helped patients with Parkinson's and Essential Tremor The Associated Press KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- People have come from 42 states and as far away as Kuwait for a surgery that two University of Kansas surgeons helped pioneer. It is called deep brain stimulation, and it has helped people who couldn't walk or even feed themselves to regain those skills. Candidates for the procedure suffer from Parkinson's or Essential Tremor, two of the most common neurological movement disorders. Combined, the two conditions afflict about 2 million Americans. Dick Swindler, of Lawrence, who has Parkinson's disease, has become a believer in the procedure. The 56-year-old is doing things with his hands that he couldn't imagine doing six years ago with the help of University of Kansas Medical Center neurosurgeon Steven Wilkinson and neurologist Rajesh Pahwa. The procedure included drilling a hole in Swindler's brain and implanting an electrode to help calm his tremors and involuntary muscle contractions. His symptoms eased immediately. The medical center -- the nation's leading center for deep brain stimulation -- performed its 200th implant in May. Swindler says the stimulators have given his life back. "He actually looks and acts like the person I married again," Margie Swindler said. Swindler's tremors were so violent before the surgery, Margie Swindler said, that it wasn't a good idea to stand next to him. "We called it flapping," she said. He also had episodes of dystonia, a condition in which his muscles would involuntarily clench and his arms would twist up like pretzels. His condition forced him to retire from teaching after 28 years at Lawrence High School. If he hadn't had the surgery when he did, Margie Swindler said, he would be in a wheelchair or bedridden. Instead, Swindler plays golf four days a week. He chases his 5-year-old grandson around the yard and takes him swimming. During the procedure, the patient remains awake, though the head is numbed so the surgeon can drill through the skull to implant the electrode, Pahwa said. The patient is then put under general anesthesia and a wire is implanted under the skin behind the ear and linked to a small battery just under the collarbone. The system, which also has been called a brain pacemaker, delivers mild electrical stimulation to precisely targeted areas deep within the brain. Continuous stimulation of those areas seems to block the signals that cause the disabling motor symptoms. The technology for the procedure was developed by Medtronic Inc., a medical technology company based in Minneapolis. Although the stimulators haven't worked for everyone, the medical center has a respected history of performing the procedure, Pahwa said. "We have a team in place that's been together for seven years now," he said. SOURCE: The Topeka Capital-Journal/CJ Online http://cjonline.com/stories/071101/new_kubrain.shtml * * * [log in to unmask] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn