In this series, ARF takes stock of deep-brain stimulation after more than a decade of life-altering procedures, In deep brain stimulation, surgeons implant wires into the brain and hook them up to a pacemaker-like stimulator implanted in the chest, which sends electrical signals to his brain that quiet tremors or stimulate dying brain areas. Now is an interesting time to learn more about this treatment, because even as scientists are gathering long-term data on its initial indications—movement disorders—they are beginning to explore whether DBS might also work for a range of other conditions, including Alzheimer’s.
Series
Deep-Brain Stimulation: Surgical Relief for Parkinson's and Beyond
Deep-Brain Stimulation: Decade of Surgical Relief, Not Just for PD
Twelve years on, Jeff Ryan still recalls the collective gasp in the operating room the day he got the electrodes implanted. He himself was in somewhat of a state of shock as he held the cup. “All of the sudden your hands that have been shaki...
Deep-Brain Stimulation: Steadies the Body, But What About the Mind?
With a few electrodes deftly threaded into a troubled brain, surgeons can often still the embarrassing tremors and alleviate the painful muscle cramps that come with Parkinson disease. But this deep-brain stimulation does not treat all that Parkin...
Deep-Brain Stimulation: An Electrode for All Occasions?
Deep-brain stimulation (DBS) is not just for shakes and trembles any more. With the advent of improved brain imaging, researchers are linking certain parts of brain anatomy to conditions ranging from addiction to Alzheimer disease. And for every M...
Deep-Brain Stimulation: There’s Still Room for Improvement
Though some 55,000 people have received deep-brain stimulation for conditions ranging from Parkinson disease to obsessive-compulsive disorder, there is still plenty of room to improve the process. Companies are working on smaller devices with long...
DBS Update: Attempting to Stimulate Memory in Alzheimer’s
Researchers are sliding electrodes into the brains of people with Alzheimer disease, hoping to awaken memories and stave off disease-induced forgetfulness. In the August 4 Annals of Neurology online, a team led by Andres Lozano at Toronto Western ...
A Day in the OR: Surgeons Zap Neurons for Parkinson’s, AD
The doctors crowd around the computer monitor, examining the brain scans of the man lying on their operating table down the hall. The metal headdress they have mounted to his cranium—or “stereotactic frame” in medical lingo&mdash...