Deep Brain Stimulation for Parkinson's Disease Patients
What is deep brain stimulation (DBS)?
Deep brain stimulation is a device based therapy which involves implantation of electrodes within certain areas of the brain which produce electrical impulses. The amount of stimulation is controlled by a pacemaker-like device, which is placed in the upper chest. A wire connects this pacemaker-like device to the electrodes in the brain that travels under the skin. The deep brain stimulation devices are used for the treatment of dystonia, essential tremor, Parkinson's disease, stroke recovery, major depression and many others.
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The deep brain stimulation system consists of four parts:
- Leads (thin insulated wires) that end in electrodes that are implanted in the brain
- A small pacemaker-like device, called a pulse generator, that creates the electrical pulses
- Extension leads that carry electrical pulses from the device and are attached to the leads implanted in the brain
- Hand-held programmer device that adjusts the device’s signals and can turn the device off and on.
In deep brain stimulation, electrodes are placed in the targeted areas of the brain. The electrodes are connected by wires to a type of pacemaker device (called an implantable pulse generator) placed under the skin of the chest below the collarbone.
Once activated, the pulse generator sends continuous electrical pulses to the target areas in the brain, modifying the brain circuits in that area of the brain. The deep brain stimulation system operates much the same way as a pacemaker for the heart. In fact, deep brain stimulation is referred to as “the pacemaker for the brain.”
How is deep brain stimulation (DBS) used to treat Parkinson’s disease?
Deep brain stimulation (DBS) delivers electrical impulses to a targeted area of the brain that is responsible for the movement symptoms (also called motor symptoms) caused by Parkinson’s disease. The electrical impulses disrupt the abnormal activity that occurs in the brain’s circuitry, which is causing the symptoms.
There are three areas in the brain that can be targets for deep brain stimulation in patients with Parkinson’s disease. They are the subthalamic nucleus, the globus pallidus internus, and the ventral intermediate nucleus of the thalamus. Each of these areas plays a role in the brain’s circuitry that is responsible for the control of movement.
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Reference
- theinsightpartners.com
- my.clevelandclinic.org