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| Insertion of an electrode during deep brain stimulation for Parkinson's disease. |
Deep Brain Stimulation in select brain regions has provided remarkable therapeutic benefits for otherwise treatment-resistant movement and affective disorders involving the brain and its functions such as chronic pain, Parkinson's disease, tremor and dystonia.
DBS uses high-frequency electrical stimulation targeted to a predefined area of the brain. The patient is implanted with two thin wire electrodes, one on each side of the brain. The other end of each wire was connected under the skin of the patient's neck to a pulse generator implanted in the chest – similar to a pacemaker – that directs the electrical current.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Deep Brain Stimulation as a treatment for essential tremor in 1997, for Parkinson's disease in 2002, and dystonia in 2003.
Mayo Clinic creates tool to track real-time chemical changes in brain
Mayo Clinic researchers have found a novel way to monitor real-time chemical changes in the brains of patients undergoing deep brain stimulation (DBS). The groundbreaking insight will help physicians more effectively use DBS to treat brain disorders such as Parkinson's disease, depression and Tourette syndrome. The findings are published in the journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings.
Researchers hope to use the discovery to create a DBS system that can instantly respond to chemical changes in the brain. Parkinson's, Tourette syndrome and depression all involve a surplus or deficiency of neurochemicals in the brain. The idea is to monitor those neurochemicals and adjust them to appropriate levels.
"We can learn what neurochemicals can be released by DBS, neurochemical stimulation, or other stimulation. We can basically learn how the brain works," says author Su-Youne Chang, Ph.D., of the Mayo Clinic Neurosurgery Department. As researchers better understand how the brain works, they can predict changes, and respond before those changes disrupt brain functioning.
