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The source of this article is the Austin Business Journal: http://tinyurl.com/dkvw4 EXCLUSIVE REPORTS From the June 10, 2005 print edition Doctor uses new tool against Parkinson's Jonathan Kealing Austin Business Journal Staff Just six months ago, Dr. Rob Izor was new to Austin and trying to establish a neurology practice. He had about 15 patients and hardly could be called busy. He now has about 100 patients in his practice, which focuses on treating people with Parkinson's disease and other movement disorders. He specializes in the maintenance and operation of deep-brain-stimulation devices. Only one other physician in Austin maintains the devices, Izor says. Izor hopes to grow his practice to about 800 to 1,000 patients. Over time, he'd like to either add another physician or collaborate with another neurologist who specializes in movement disorders, and create a regional center for treatment of people with movement disorders. He'd also like to eventually diversify his practice so that it isn't as dependent on Parkinson's cases. For now, Parkinson's consumes the bulk of Izor's work. The DBS devices he handles generate electrical currents through an area of the brain, relieving many symptoms of Parkinson's. "A lot of neurologists shy away from more difficult patients, not because they don't want to care for them, but because the insurance companies require much, much more medical history," Izor says. "Most of my patients are complicated." Les Bell is one of those patients. He can walk across a room and tap his fingers. He can speak clearly and sleep deeply. He's like most anyone else in Central Texas. The only difference is, Bell is in the early stages of Parkinson's, which used to keep him from doing any of those simple tasks. Over the past few months, Izor has worked with Bell to tune the DBS device in his brain. The device is essentially an electrode inserted into areas of the brain afflicted by Parkinson's, then attached to a pacemakerlike device in the chest. The electrode wire is about the size of a string of spaghetti. "It's 100 times better than I ever thought it would be," Bell says. "I can't see any downside." Those reactions, and what he calls the "interesting and promising therapies" they stem from, spurred Izor to create his own practice. Izor, a graduate of the University of Texas, completed his residency and fellowship at the UT Health Science Center at Houston. After spending time there, he returned to Austin. But instead of joining an existing group of neurologists, he struck out on his own. "If I came into town [and joined an existing practice], I was afraid I was going to lose my skills," he says. "If you really want to focus on your interests, you need to open your own business." Right now, Izor sees many patients who have had DBS devices implanted, but who weren't seeing a neurologist who could devote time to properly tune the devices. That's how Bell ended up in Izor's office. Izor doesn't perform the actual implantations, leaving them to a neurosurgeon. In fact, no one in Austin performs the procedure. Izor currently sends his patients to San Antonio or Houston to have the devices implanted. However, he is working to find a neurosurgeon who will conduct the procedures in Austin. Dr. Richard Lenehan, chairman of the neurology department at Scott & White Hospital in Temple, cautions that DBS therapy -- although promising -- provides benefits to only a small segment of Parkinson's patients, particularly those who have reacted well to medication. "This is not the panacea. It should be used as a supplement to treatment with medication," he says. [log in to unmask] | (512) 494-2545 © 2005 American City Business Journals Inc. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn