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'Deep Brain Stimulation' Can Help With Parkinson's

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Jul 7, 2008 7:35 pm US/Mountain

'Deep Brain Stimulation' Can Help With Parkinson's

Reporting
Kathy Walsh
AURORA, Colo. (CBS4) ― A relatively new tool for treating Parkinson's disease is showing remarkable promise. It's not a cure, but it can reduce the tremors and other symptoms and help patients gain more control.

CBS4 Health Specialist Kathy Walsh recently followed a man through the procedure called "deep brain stimulation."

"I've heard it described as a sort of pacemaker for the brain," Walsh said.

It is a painstaking procedure, but the results can be dramatic. It can actually allow patients to lead a more normal life.

Walsh met Tony Jimenez while he was golfing. He looked like any other avid golfer, but his feet shuffle and he suffers from involuntary arm movements. When he sits down it becomes much worse.

"Well, you can see I can't sit still now, it's very difficult," he told Walsh. "People look at me and think, 'That drunk.'"

Jimenez was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease about 10 years ago. He has to take 21 pills a day. The medicine actually causes his wild flailing called dyskinesia. He can't drive any more, but without the drugs, he could barely walk.

"I just want to be a human being again," he said. "I feel like not even half a man."

Jimenez decided to undergo surgery, the first step in the technique of deep brain stimulation.

Jimenez was awake while neurosurgeon, Dr. Steven Ojemann, bored a hole through his skull. Guided by a virtual model, he then threaded a millimeter-thick electrode deep into the brain aiming for a spot the size of an almond -- the spot affected by Parkinson's.

Neurologist Olga Klepitskaya instructed Jimenez to move. She then briefly ran electric current to the brain region. The pulses seem to signal the area to fire off nerves more normally.

A week later Jimenez had another electrode placed and then a pacemaker-like device was put in his chest.

After 5 weeks, Jimenez was ready to be programmed to fine tune to see which pattern of electric current worked best. It's not easy and may take one to six months to get it right.

"It's important to note this really isn't a cure for Parkinson's disease," Ojemann said.

But to Jimenez it may mean driving a car or playing a full round of golf. It may also mean feeling human again.

Doctors at University of Colorado Hospital say it masks the symptoms in some cases for five, even ten years.

The procedure is not for all patients like those who are newly diagnosed or those who are advanced.

There can be side effects such as tingling, loss of balance and slurred speech, but they are considered mild and reversible.

(© MMIX CBS Television Stations, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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