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Back in 1995 we had a wonderful person help us all and his name was Alan Bonander. An award was created post-humously and I was a recipient of that award. I'll never cherish the award as much as we cherished the person. It will do you all good to get to know Alan and the best way is to read his contributions in a most gentle honest way. Touch the Brain, Never the Same will give you insight where we have been and where we are going and the struggles we have overcome and the success and failures on Parkinsn. His posting is here: http://www.parkinsons-information-exchange-network-online.com/parkmail5/1995a/msg00602.html How did we get from there to here? Technology has improved and support from the government was necessary to pay for the tests and surgery to prove its safety and veracity. If the U.S. Social Security System hadn't stepped forward to prove the new technology it never would have happened. Progressive countries social programs permit patients who need them access to the proven devices. Neurosurgery and movement disorder research have been compounded. Side Effects are showing the way for new uses in other neurological and psychiatric conditions. Countries in the developing world don't have the support of their governments so that neurosurgons and movement disorder neurologists can develop a system and rhythm for successful outcomes. Until a team has performed at least 100 surgery the patients are the guinea pigs. Persons with neurological and medically untreatable psychosis have 'lightning in a bottle', their brain. The discordant noise cancelation in neurostimulators can cancel the noise of neurons misfiring through programing, restoring order to chaos. The targeting areas to achieve desired effects is being discovered with increasing frequency and their relationship to other structures is being understood. Micro-electrode Record or Not? Back in the days when pallidotomy was in the vogue it was a 7-9 hour procedure with your Leiksel frame bolted to the table when micro-electrode recording was done. All the major teaching hospitals were warning against going to a neurosurgeon who just used the Brain Atlas to map the coordinates of the target. Of course those who didn't use micro-electrode recording didn't require 7-9 hours of operating room time. Subsequent studies have not validated the micro-electrode approach as necessary for a successful outcome. Upon implant, the team is able to preprogram the stim to get the results desired before the patient leaves the OR. Now days, the stereotactic frame is becoming replaced with plastic tailor made skull caps which do not require the patients head to be immobilized making it much more comfortable for the procedure. The newest neurostimulators announced this year also have added capabilities not before had, the ability to adjust current which will open up avenues for programming and a better understanding of how the different regions of the brain communicate and perhaps open the door for new conditions. Dr. Miguel Nicolelis at Duke has discovered that some movement disorders can be managed with a neurostimulator implanted in the Spine. Putting a severed spinal cord back together electronically is next. Those muscles and organs are just waiting for a signal from home to come back to life. Duodental infusion recently made the news, Alan Bonander had already been there, done that....in 1995. History is made by those who fear not. John Cottingham ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn