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A brain
stimulation technique is aiding patients suffering from the
symptoms of Parkinson's disease.
Deep-brain
stimulation involves implanting two brain pacemakers into
the brain, similar to the devices used for the heart. The
pacemakers deliver customized electrical pulses deep inside
the brain to counteract the faulty signals between the brain
cells that cause the jerky movements known as dyskinesias.
The U.S.
Food and Drug Administration approved the expanded use of
the deep-brain stimulator, helping thousands of patients with
advanced Parkinson's disease who still respond to medication
but whose symptoms are not well-controlled.
Deep-brain
stimulation is considered to be the most significant advance
in Parkinson's disease treatment since the discovery of levodopa
(L-dopa), the standard drug therapy for the disease.
The treatment
does carry some risks, including bleeding in the brain and
infection.
The procedure
may prove beneficial for other movement disorders and medical
conditions such as epilepsy and depression.
Source:
Medical Week staff,
week of May 19, 2002
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