 |
 |
The source of this article is The Tyler Morning Telegraph: http://tinyurl.com/56ghs DEEP BRAIN STIMULATION AIDS PARKINSON'S, TREMOR PATIENTS By: MARVIN ELLIS, Staff Writer August 07, 2004 Deep brain stimulation can offer "near-normal function for many patients with Parkinson's or essential tremors," an East Texas Medical Center neurologist told those attending a Celebration of Living luncheon Saturday. Dr. George M. Plotkin, medical director of the ETMC Neurologi-cal Institute's Movement Disor-ders Center, told the group of about 55 people at the Pavilion the success rate for deep brain stimulation in Tyler was above both national and international averages. "We have had very successful benefits," he said. "It is about quality of life ... People can walk again who were confined to wheelchairs; some are working in their gardens, others are traveling and one lady is sewing again. I had one patient even do a little dance for me in the office." Although there is still no cure for Parkinson's and essential tremor, the center has been able to improve the lives of patients with the procedure, Plotkin said. Since November 2002, ETMC has performed deep brain stimulation surgery on 17 patients with essential tremor and 23 with Parkinson's. "We have two cases scheduled next week," Plotkin said. He said deep brain stimulation is a surgical procedure used to treat a variety of disabling neurological symptoms - most commonly the symptoms of Park-inson's disease, such as tremor, rigidity, stiffness, slowed movement and walking problems. The procedure is also used to treat essential tremor, which Plotkin said is a common but complex neurological movement disorder. "It's called 'essential' because in the past, it had no known cause. It's not caused by another neurological condition or the side effect of a medication," he said, noting the condition usually affects the hands. In deep brain stimulation, a neurostimulator - a battery-operated, stopwatch-sized device similar to a heart pacemaker - is implanted in the patient's brain. The device delivers electrical stimulation to areas of the brain that control movement, blocking the abnormal nerve signals that cause tremor and Parkinson's symptoms. The device is manufactured by Medtronic, which was approved by the Food and Drug Adminis-tration to use the Activa Therapy for tremor and Parkinson's in January 2002. "This is a very exciting time in neurosurgery," said Dr. Paul W. Detwiler of the ETMC Neurological Institute. "This is one surgery I enjoy doing because it helps people and they are glad to come back to see you because of the improvements." Troy Thibodeaux, vice president of the ETMC Neurological Institute, said, "We are one of the few movement disorder centers not affiliated with an academic hospital or a university." Two other neurosurgeons are doing the deep brain stimulation: Mark Renfro and Thomas W. Grahm. Parkinson's disease and essential tremor affect 2.5 million people in the United States. Marvin Ellis covers hospitals and medical organizations. He can be reached at 903.596.6265. e-mail: [log in to unmask] ŠTyler Morning Telegraph 2004 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn