Tremor Reduction And Stimulation Parameters For Chronic Stimulation
The overall CRST subscore decreased from 20.0 at baseline to 4.3 , 6.3 , and 6.5 at the 6 month , 1 year , and 2 year follow-ups, respectively . A significant difference was observed in CRST subscores over time . The least-square means of the CRST subscores were significantly different among the groups at baseline, with a score of 17.6 in the PSA, 20.7 in the VIM, and 21.7 in the VIM + PSA . The CRST subscore decreased from 17.6 to 4.0 in the PSA, from 20.7 to 3.9 in the VIM, and from 21.7 to 5.0 in the VIM + PSA at the 6 month follow-up. However, the CRST subscore increased slightly after 6 months in all three groups. Although the CRST subscores among the three groups were not statistically significant over time, chronic stimulation 2 years after DBS of the PSA resulted in slightly better tremor control than that after DBS of the VIM and the VIM + PSA . Figure 2 shows the mean profile plot of the changes in CRST subscores over time among the three groups. The mean amplitude, pulse width, and frequency for chronic stimulation were 2.1 V, 79.7 s, and 149.6 Hz, respectively, in the PSA 3.1 V, 81.7 s, and 153.3 Hz, respectively, in the VIM and 2.7 V, 87.6 s, and 161.3 Hz, respectively, in the VIM + PSA . The best clinical effect was achieved with the PSA at significantly lower stimulation amplitudes and frequencies .
Table 3. Clinical Rating Scale for Tremor subscores over evaluation visits.
Table 4. Chronic stimulation parameters.
Deep Brain Stimulation At Michigan Medicine
For carefully selected patients with Parkinsons disease, Essential Tremor, and Dystonia, deep brain stimulation offers a therapeutic surgical option that can reduce or eliminate movement-related problems and greatly improve quality of life. At the University of Michigan Health System, our STIM program brings together a team of medical experts who are leaders in their respective fields and on the cutting-edge of the latest research.
Sites Of Deep Brain Stimulation And Symptom Control
While both subthalamic nucleus and globus pallidus internus stimulation help improve the motor symptoms of Parkinsons disease, studies have found a few differences.
DBS of the third target, the ventral intermediate nucleus, can be beneficial for controlling tremors but does not work as well at addressing the other motor symptoms of Parkinsons disease.
In a Canadian study, targeting the subthalamic nucleus allowed people to reduce the doses of their medications to a greater degree, while targeting the globus pallidus internus was more effective for abnormal movements .
In another study, STN deep brain stimulation also led to a greater reduction in medication dosages. However, GPi stimulation resulted in greater improvement in quality of life, and also appeared to help with the fluency of speech and depression symptoms.
Side effects of DBS can sometimes include subtle cognitive changes . A different study compared these effects with regard to these different areas.
GPi showed smaller neurocognitive declines than STN, though the effects were small with both. On a positive note, both procedures seemed to reduce symptoms of depression following surgery.
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When Should I Call My Healthcare Provider Or Go To The Hospital
Because DBS involves surgery especially the procedure on your brain there are some warning signs you shouldn’t ignore. You should call your healthcare provider immediately or go to the hospital outside of business hours if you have the following symptoms:
- Severe headache that happens suddenly or wont go away.
- Bleeding from your incisions.
What Is The Recovery Time
Your healthcare provider is the best person to tell you what to expect regarding your recovery time and when you will notice changes in your symptoms and how you feel. They can tell you the likely recovery time you’ll need, which can vary depending on other factors like your overall health, other conditions you have and your personal circumstances.
Most people will need to stay in the hospital for one day after surgery to implant the DBS leads in their brain. Surgery to implant the pulse generator is usually a procedure where you go home the same day.
Overall, recovery time generally takes several weeks. Your healthcare provider will likely have you do the following:
- Avoid any kind of activity for about two weeks after each procedure: This includes things as minor as household chores or sexual activity. You should not lift anything heavier than 5 pounds .
- Avoid moderate- or high-intensity activity for at least four to six weeks: This includes exercise and physical labor. Most people can return to work or their usual routine after this.
- Use caution when moving or stretching: You should avoid making certain movements, like raising your hands over your head, for several days after surgery to implant the pulse generator. Your healthcare provider will tell you how long youll need to restrict your movements.
How should I care for the surgical area once I’m home?
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Personality Changes After Deep Brain Stimulation In Parkinsons Disease
Uyen Pham
1Department of Neuropsychiatry and Psychosomatic Medicine, Oslo University Hospital-Rikshospitalet, 0027 Oslo, Norway
2Department of Gerontopsychiatry, Akershus University Hospital, 1478 Lørenskog, Norway
3Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, 0316 Oslo, Norway
4Department of Neurosurgery, Oslo University Hospital-Rikshospitalet, 0027 Oslo, Norway
5Department of Neurology, Oslo University Hospital-Rikshospitalet, 0027 Oslo, Norway
6Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Oslo University Hospital-Rikshospitalet, 0450 Oslo, Norway
7Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, 0316 Oslo, Norway
8Centre for Age-Related Medicine, Stavanger University Hospital, 4068 Stavanger, Norway
9Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institute, 17176 Stockholm, Sweden
Academic Editor:
Abstract
1. Introduction
Self-report questionnaires have been applied to investigate the effects of STN-DBS on impulsivity. When assessed with the Temperament and Character Inventory-Revised , PD patients treated with DBS reported higher impulsivity scores compared to healthy controls . Using the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale , another study found significantly higher impulsivity scores in DBS-treated patients than in PD patients without DBS . Previous studies were either experimental/lab-based studies or investigated personality traits with only one assessment tool. Collateral information about behavioural change has not been reported.
2.1. Subjects
What Are The Advantages Of Deep Brain Stimulation
DBS has several advantages. These include:
- It can offer a treatment option when medications arent helpful: DBS is an option when medications don’t work or are no longer effective. With Parkinsons disease, medications lose effectiveness over time, so your healthcare provider has to increase your dosage. That leads to other side effects. With DBS, lower medication dosages are often effective again, which means your symptoms are under control with reduced side effects.
- It can be a life-changing treatment: Some of the conditions that DBS treats can cause severe effects that keep you from doing even the most routine activities. DBS can treat your condition and improve your symptoms, improving your overall quality of life. For conditions like medication-resistant epilepsy, where surgical resection isn’t an option, DBS can offer hope and reduction in seizure frequency.
- Its adjustable: Your healthcare provider can fine-tune the pulse generator settings to find what works best for you.
- Its reversible: A follow-up surgery can remove the leads and pulse generator if DBS doesn’t work or causes side effects that you can’t tolerate.
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What To Expect After Dbs
Surgery to implant the leads generally entails an overnight stay, while the IPG is usually implanted as same-day surgery. During recovery, your surgeon will talk to you about caring for your wounds, when you can shower, and any activity restrictions. Its usually recommended that any heavy lifting be avoided for a few weeks.
After another two to four weeks, youll return to have your device programmed. This process will continue for several weeks to ensure the stimulation settings are optimal to control your symptoms. During these visits, you will be shown how to turn the device on and off with the handheld device and check the battery level.
Once the programming has been completed, you will have regular follow-up visits to check and adjust the stimulation to maintain the most benefit for your symptoms.
What Conditions And Symptoms Can Dbs Treat
DBS can treat several conditions that affect your brain, including movement disorders, mental health conditions and epilepsy.
DBS has approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat the following conditions:
Its important to keep in mind that while the above conditions might benefit from DBS, experts still dont know if this is the case. It usually takes years of research and clinical trials to determine if a medical procedure like DBS is helpful for conditions like these. While researchers are looking into them, DBS surgery to treat these conditions is not common.
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How Does Dbs Work
In DBS surgery, electrodes are inserted into a targeted area of the brain, using MRI and, at times, recordings of brain cell activity during the procedure. A second procedure is performed to implant an impulse generator battery , which is similar to a heart pacemaker and approximately the size of a stopwatch.
The IPG is placed under the collarbone or in the abdomen and delivers an electrical stimulation to targeted areas in the brain that control movement. Those who undergo DBS surgery are given a controller to turn the device on or off and review basic parameters such as battery life.
Longer Hospital Stays For Parkinsons Patients
Parkinsons disease is characterized by the loss of neurons, or nerve cells, that produce the neurotransmitter dopamine a brain chemical messenger essential for muscle control.
As a result, patients are at higher risk of musculoskeletal problems due to rigidity of the muscles and akathisia, or the inability to remain physically still due to an inner restlessness.
Spinal problems also are more common among people with Parkinsons than in the general population. Generally, Parkinsons patients undergoing orthopedic surgery are also reported to have higher rates of surgical complications than people without the neurodegenerative condition, as well as less symptom ease and lower quality of life improvement.
Given these poorer outcomes, the risks of surgery must be weighed more heavily when considering surgical intervention, the researchers wrote.
Now, a team led by researchers at the Yale School of Medicine, in Connecticut, assessed the outcomes of Parkinsons patients following elective spine surgery, which had not yet been studied.
Specifically, they compared the rate of post-surgery, in-hospital complications in people with and without Parkinsons who underwent elective single or multi-level anterior cervical discectomy and fusion .
ACDF, the most commonly performed surgery for spinal degeneration in the neck region, is a minimally invasive procedure that involves removing a damaged spinal disc in the neck to relieve pressure and associated pain.
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What Happens During Dbs
Implantation of a DBS lead generally requires a hospital stay of a day or longer. Procedures may vary depending on your condition and your healthcare providers practices. The lead and neurostimulator may be implanted at the same time, or the neurostimulator may be implanted in a separate procedure after the lead is implanted. Talk with your healthcare provider about what you will experience during your procedure.
Generally, surgery for DBS follows this process:
How Deep Brain Stimulation Works
Exactly how DBS works is not completely understood, but many experts believe it regulates abnormal electrical signaling patterns in the brain. To control normal movement and other functions, brain cells communicate with each other using electrical signals. In Parkinsons disease, these signals become irregular and uncoordinated, which leads to motor symptoms. DBS may interrupt the irregular signaling patterns so cells can communicate more smoothly and symptoms lessen.
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Assessment Of Reporting Biases
We will use a funnel plot to assess reporting bias if ten or more trials are included . We will visually inspect funnel plots to assess the risk of bias. We are aware of the limitations of a funnel plot . From this information, we will assess possible reporting bias. For dichotomous outcomes, we will test asymmetry with the Harbord test if 2 is less than 0.1 and with the Rücker test if 2 is more than 0.1 . For continuous outcomes, we will use the regression asymmetry test and the adjusted rank correlation .
Stereotactic Dbs Vs Interventional Image
Stereotactic DBS surgery requires the patient to be off their medication. During the procedure, a frame stabilizes the head and provides coordinates to help the surgeons guide the lead to the correct location in the brain. The patient gets local anesthesia to keep them comfortable throughout each step along with a mild sedative to help them relax.
During image-guided DBS surgery, such as with interventional MRI or CT scan, the patient is often asleep under general anesthesia while the surgeon uses images of the brain to guide the lead to its target.
Some advanced centers offer both the stereotactic and iMRI-guided options for DBS surgery. In this case, the doctor and patient will discuss which procedure is better based on a number of factors.
For instance, the doctor may recommend an image-guided procedure for children, patients who have extreme symptoms, those who are especially anxious or fearful or those whose leads are going into certain parts of the brain.
Generally, DBS surgery follows this process:
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How Common Is Dbs
Dr. Sheth describes DBS as a very standard treatment. These are procedures that we do week in and week out, he said. It’s not investigational or experimental. Around the world, more than 150,000 patients have had DBS for Parkinson’s or tremor with a success rate of 95%.
Patients need to know that there are these alternatives. They need to know that they’re not necessarily stuck with these symptoms, that there may be a different way to get better control. That discussion is, of course, individual-specific, but the availability of these types of surgical treatments is important for patients to know about.
Dopaminergic Medications And Their Side Effects
The most commonly prescribed drugs used to treat Parkinsons disease are dopaminergic medications. These drugs work by influencing levels of the neurotransmitter dopamine. These drugs often work because Parkinsons disease symptoms are caused by low levels of dopamine in the brain.
Dopaminergic medications include:
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Instability And Rarely Falling
Let us think about two things that can cause you to fall if you have Parkinsons:
- Imbalance increases in 1/3rd of patients after DBS.
- Freezing decrease in most patients after DBS.
Overall, the beneficial effects outweigh the increased imbalance. So, usually patients fall less often after DBS.
But if the most important reason for you falling is that you are unstable, you should pause.
And think.
You should ask your doctor these 3 questions, BEFORE DBS.
If instability is the cause of your falls, proceed only after understanding the pros & cons.
If you have a Parkinsons plus syndrome, consider not getting DBS.
1. Falling: If you are falling because of instability.
2. Thinking/memory: If you already have these problems.
3. Depression: If you already have uncontrollable depression.
No one is perfect. Most patients with Parkinsons have these symptoms, in greater or lesser severity. This does not mean nobody can get DBS.
But if you have very severe/uncontrollable problems with any of these three symptoms, you should discuss the pros/cons of DBS in detail with your doctor before proceeding.
What Happens During Surgery
For stage 1, implanting the electrodes in the brain, the entire process lasts 4 to 6 hours. The surgery generally lasts 3 to 4 hours.
Step 1: attach stereotactic frameThe procedure is performed stereotactically, which requires attaching a frame to your head. While you are seated, the frame is temporarily positioned on your head with Velcro straps. The four pin sites are injected with local anesthesia to minimize discomfort. You will feel some pressure as the pins are tightened .
Step 2: MRI or CT scanYou will then have an imaging scan, using either CT or MRI. A box-shaped localizing device is placed over the top of the frame. Markers in the box show up on the scan and help pinpoint the exact three-dimensional coordinates of the target area within the brain. The surgeon uses the MRI / CT scans and special computer software to plan the trajectory of the electrode.
Step 3: skin and skull incisionYou will be taken to the operating room. You will lie on the table and the stereotactic head frame will be secured. This prevents any small movements of your head while inserting the electrodes. You will remain awake during surgery. Light sedation is given to make you more comfortable during the initial skin incision, but then stopped so that you can talk to the doctors and perform tasks.
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How Effective Is It
DBS does not cure or slow the progression of Parkinsons disease. However, many people report that it helps them control the motor symptoms of the condition.
The Parkinsons Foundation says that DBS improves symptoms in many people. However, it is different for everyone.
Some people experience a mild improvement, while others experience a significant improvement. Some people may be able to stop taking their Parkinsons disease medication, while others will not.
DBS is not the right treatment choice for everyone. Doctors tend to only recommend it in advanced Parkinsons disease and when more standard medications are not working as well as they should.
According to the Parkinsons Foundation, people who are best suited to DBS:
- have had Parkinsons disease symptoms for at least 5 years
- experience on/off fluctuations in symptoms, even though they are taking medications
- have dyskinesia
There are three components of the DBS system:
- The lead: This is also called an electrode. It is a thin, insulated wire.
- The extension: This is another insulated wire that connects the lead to the neurostimulator.
- The neurostimulator, or IPG: This is essentially the battery pack.
According to Johns Hopkins, during the procedure, a surgeon will implant the three pieces of the DBS system into the persons body.