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Baylor Neuroscience Center
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Deep Brain Stimulation
The Baylor Neuroscience Center, through Movement Disorders Services, provides deep brain stimulation (DBS) to treat a variety of debilitating neurological conditions, most commonly Parkinson's disease, essential tremor and dystonia. As part of the continuum of care, neurologists and neurosurgeons on the medical staff of Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas work together to provide this treatment. Deep brain stimulation is often used to treat those patients who respond to medications but have limiting side effects or decreasing efficacy.
In DBS, a surgically implanted neurostimulator delivers electrical stimulation to targeted areas in the brain (generally, the thalamus, subthalamic nucleus and globus pallidus) that control movement. Before the procedure, a neurosurgeon uses MRI or CT scanning to identify and locate the targeted areas. Microelectrode recording also may be used to more specifically identify the precise brain areas to be stimulated.
Because DBS does not completely eradicate the symptoms of Parkinson's disease, most patients will require continued medication. However, many patients experience a considerable reduction of their symptoms and are able to reduce their medications. The reduction in dosage may lead to improvement in side effects, such as dyskinesias caused by long-term use of levodopa. In addition, in some cases, the stimulation itself can suppress dyskinesias without a reduction in medication. Recent research shows that the beneficial effect of DBS on motor symptoms is also accompanied by an improvement in quality-of-life indicators for patients with Parkinson's disease.
For more information or to refer a patient please call 1-800-9BAYLOR.
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