Parkinson’s Treatment: Deep Brain Stimulation Surgery May Do Away With The Need For Medication
World Parkinson’s Day is observed every year to raise awareness about these neurodegenerative disorders. The theme of this year is ‘Parkinson Is,’ meaning that there needs to be more awareness about the neurodegenerative disorder. Not only will awareness help people understand the disease but also improve their health and overall well-being. One of the keys to mitigating the risk of Parkinson’s is a timely intervention. Experts believe that timely treatment can help manage the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease and enable a person to lead an improved quality of life.
For the uninitiated, Parkinson’s is a chronic neurological degenerative disorder, being progressive in nature degenerates the nerve cells that produce dopamine in the part of the brain that controls the movements. The condition is very rare but usually affects 1 in 100 people aged over 60 years of age.
Timely Treatment Key To Managing Symptoms Of Parkinson’s
To help spread awareness about Parkinson’s, Dr Aditya Gupta, Director of Neurosurgery & CNS Radiosurgery & Co-director CyberKnife centre, Artemis Hospital, and Dr Sumit Singh, Director, of Neurology, Parkinson’s Specialist and Co-director Stroke unit, Artemis Hospitals held a session. They said collectively that with the availability of advanced treatment modalities, there is a dire need to raise public awareness about the management options available to improve the quality of life.
The experts highlighted that diagnosis of PD is mainly clinical, and other imaging tests like MRI, CT scan of the brain, and PET scan may be used only to help rule out other disorders but aren’t particularly helpful for diagnosing Parkinson’s disease.
Deep Brain Stimulation Surgery Apt For Parkinson’s Treatment
According to Dr Sumit Singh, Director of Neurology, Parkinson’s Specialist and Co-director Stroke unit, Artemis Hospitals, “Timely intervention in movement disorders like PD, not only improves the clinical outcomes but also improves the quality of life. With several management options available, timely medications help significantly to improve the symptoms. In some cases when the effects of the medications diminish frequently, other options like Deep Brain Stimulation surgery plays a vital role in the treatment. Even though surgeries are the last resort, and not many primary care physicians who manage tremors through medications, excel in performing such surgeries. Thus, it is important to visit a neurologist early, not only to diagnose the condition but also to rule out other causes for such symptoms.”
“DBS surgery is a highly safe and well-tolerated surgical procedure that has established itself as a highly effective therapy for advanced Parkinson’s Disease over the last decade. Such procedures have changed the lives of thousands of patients by allowing them to reduce their medications. Just like a heart pacemaker, DBS surgery involves placing an electrode in the targeted area of the brain connecting it to a pacemaker-like implant (under the chest skin). The device is programmed to deliver electrical signals to specific areas of the brain, thereby regulating the abnormal signals that were causing the tremors. The beauty of DBS is that stimulation can just be turned up to improve symptom relief” said Dr Aditya Gupta, Director of Neurosurgery & CNS Radiosurgery & Co-director of CyberKnife centre, Artemis Hospital.
