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At 10:46 AM 5/28/99, Charlie Meyers wrote >STN is clearly the wave of the future - at least >for me. It is >truly a miraculous change even on the first adjustment. > Charlie, I'm not certain that I really believed (Barb M.'s) Dr. Gary Heit when he spoke in Fort Worth on 18 April last year, but evidence has been climbing and your report is the crown. Part of my report to the list is repeated below: <<Principal speaker was Dr. Gary Heit of Stanford University. Dr. Heit made an excellent presentation on DBS and Medtronic's Activa(tm) device, explaining its role in controlling tremor in Essential Tremor and Parkinson's. At present, Dr. Heit explained, the FDA has approved the use of the Activa(tm) only for use with the electrode connected to the Vim (ventral intermediate nucleus) of the thalamus, where tremor is all that it can control. However work is being done with the electrode being placed on the sub-thalamic nucleus. This could help control other Parkinsonian symptoms, including dyskinesia and dystonia. Dr. Heit feels that this will be the next big breakthrough in treatment for Parkinson's.... This came to me as a surprise, but perhaps it should not have. Using the sub-thalamic nucleus as a target has been mentioned frequently in Joe Bruman's report indices. It was also discussed at length by Margie Swindler and others after a Kansas City Symposium about this time last year [1997].>> Thought this historical perspective might be of interest. Art