Electrode re-implantation may have benefits for Parkinson's patients

Healthcare News
14/05/2008
New research shows that results for Parkinson's patients who have had brain stimulation technology implanted could be improved by additional corrective surgery.

Poor results for Parkinson's suffers who have had brain stimulation technology implanted could be improved by additional corrective surgery.

Medical News Today reports research, seen in the Archives of Neurology journal, of seven patients showing misplacement of an electrode by just a few millimetres could make the difference.

During the procedure, electrodes are implanted to stimulate the subthalamic nucleus, a region deep in the brain, but not every effort is effective.

Quoted by the site, the report's authors wrote: "The principal cause of these poor results arises from imprecision of electrode placement."

Six of the seven patients involved in the study reportedly improved after the second surgery session to adjust electrode positions.

The study involved people aged 49 to 70-years-old with Parkinson's disease who continued to have severe symptoms even after brain stimulation treatment was performed.

Parkinson's disease develops as a result of a loss of nerve cells in a part of the brain, disrupting the co-ordination of movement.