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Hmmm... DBS might be invasive, but at least it can be reversed and does not fry a part of your brain...! Nic 57/15 On Tue, Nov 3, 2009 at 8:35 AM, mschild <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) offers a less invasive way to eliminate > tremors > caused by Parkinson's disease and essential tremor than deep brain > stimulation > (DBS) and radiofrequency (RF) treatments, and is as effective, according to > a > long-term study presented November 2, 2009, at the 51st Annual Meeting of > the > American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO). > "The study shows that radiosurgery is an effective and safe method of > getting > rid of tremors caused by Parkinson's disease and essential tremor, with > outcomes that favorably compare to both DBS and RF in tremor relief and > risk > of complications at seven years after treatment," Rufus Mark, M.D., an > author > of the study and a radiation oncologist at the Joe Arrington Cancer Center > and > Texas Tech University, both in Lubbock, Texas said. "In view of these long- > term results, this non-invasive procedure should be considered a primary > treatment option for tremors that are hard to treat." > Parkinson's disease is a slowly progressive neurologic disease that causes > tremors, in addition to other symptoms. Essential tremor is the most common > of > all movement disorders and causes uncontrollable shaking of the hands, > head, > and sometimes other parts of the body. > Stereotactic radiation is a specialized type of external beam radiation > therapy that pinpoints high doses of radiation directly on a confined area > in a > shorter amount of time than traditional radiation treatments. Stereotactic > radiosurgery, or SRS, refers to a single or several stereotactic radiation > treatments of the brain or spine. SRS is delivered by a team involving a > radiation oncologist and a neurosurgeon. This radiation treatment is often > called by the brand > names of the manufacturers, including Axesse, CyberKnife, Gamma Knife, > Novalis, Primatom, Synergy, X-Knife, TomoTherapy and Trilogy. > Between 1991 and 2007, 183 patients underwent stereotactic radiosurgery > thalamotomy, for hard-to-treat tremors caused by Parkinson's disease and > essential tremors. A thalamotomy is a procedure that destroys tissue at a > particular spot—the Ventralis Inter-Medius nucleus—on the thalamus of the > brain which influences movement. > With a median follow-up of seven years, 84 percent of patients had > significant > or complete resolution of tremors. In patients with Parkinson's disease, 83 > percent had near or complete tremor resolution, while those with essential > tremor had 87 percent of this degree of tremor resolution. > Source: American Society for Radiation Oncology > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > 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