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Carole, that certainly is a lot closer to what I was hoping to hear! My main concern is for anything that could help my dad, who is 79, and has really been devastated by PD, he may or may not be around long enough to benefit from the techniques becoming available. He also has a history of heart disease, a pacemaker, low blood pressure, etc. But it has to be encouraging for young victims of PD to see the options increasing for a cure, or at least syptomatic relief. Thanks for the encouraging information. [OO] LOOKING FOR RADIOS! Ken Becker [log in to unmask] On Fri, 20 Dec 1996, Hilton, Carole wrote: > Ken: Thought I'd take a moment and give you some feedback. You are > actually on-target. There is a device called a Gamma Knife which is a > radio-surgery machine. It performs brain surgery by using 201 "beams" > of cobalt 60 radiation sources which are focused together on the spot in > your brain you wish to treat. Only the spot where the 201 beams > intersect is actually treated with the radiation - the other brain > tissues are unaffected. This Gamma Knife machine HAS ALREADY been used > to perform Pallidotomies. Here at the Good Samaritan Hospital in L.A. > we had a trial of using the Gamma Knife for pallidotomies back in 1991 - > 1992. We treated about 20 patients and found that they had some benefit > - but it was inconsistent. Since we now know that the place in the > brain to create a pallidotomy lesion is variable between patients - we > only use invasive, radio-frequency procedures to locate the exact > location for patients. The Gamma Knife machine does not allow for > stimulation/testing during the procedure - as you can do with "open" > brain surgery. > On the other hand, the Gamma Knife is STILL used to perform > thalamotomies (for tremor only). The place on the thalamus to make a > thalamotomy lesion is well documented and varies little from patient to > patient, so this is still a viable option for patients. When possible, > we still prefer to perform "open" surgery rather than GK, as we can do > the stimulation during surgery to verify accurate lesion placement - but > this technique is still a resource for those who cannot tolerate open > brain surgery. Thanks for your ear, Carole > > > > >2) If radiation can be beamed into the brain without incisions, to treat > >cancer, why not do the same, to perform a non-invasive palidotomy?? I am > >willing to take any criticism, but if thee is merit to either idea, > >please someone, get it into the right place to become useful! > > > > > > > > > >[OO] LOOKING FOR RADIOS! > >Ken Becker > >[log in to unmask] > > >