This TEDx talk on Deep Brain Stimulation titled the Electric Brain was given on February 11, 2012.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7udZ5ux0dYE
Learn more about Deep Brain Stimulation…
The human brain is a supercomputer with networks that control the various functions that make us who we are, and allow us to do what we do. When brain circuits malfunction, debilitating motor and behavioral symptoms may emerge. Direct electrical modulation of malfunctioning brain circuits has tremendous potential to alleviate human suffering in dramatic and sometimes surprising ways.
Dr. Michael S. Okun has an undergraduate degree in History. He is a surgical neurologist who has spent the last decade mapping the human brain for over 700 deep brain stimulation surgeries. He is one of the world’s leading movement disorders and neuropsychiatry researchers, and he serves as the National Medical Director for the National Parkinson Foundation. Dr. Kelly D. Foote has an undergraduate degree in materials science and engineering. He is a functional neurosurgeon who has performed over 700 deep brain stimulator implantations for various applications. He is one of the world’s leading researchers in stereotactic neurosurgery and neuromodulation. Dr. Okun and Dr. Foote together co-founded the University of Florida Center for Movement Disorders and Neurorestoration, which is a completely patient centric interdisciplinary facility that helps patients from around the world who are suffering from movement and neuropsychiatric disorders.
4/6/12am Am I (we) to assume that “tremor” translates to Essential Tremor (ET)?
And: That, in the general population, ET is 5 to 10 times more prevalent than is
Parkinson’s (PD).
The tremor patient in the video has ET, but we also do more than ET DBS.
Drs. Okun and Foote add raisins to the dry and tasteless subject of PD. They inspire and fill us with hope for the future.
I had this done several years ago on an experimental basis. It isn’t perfect, and I wouldn’t characterize the brain as a supercomputer (that’s too simplistic and not dynamic enough), but they did show the potential for electric dbs. I would say they are freeing up the damaged circuits of the brain to allow for normal control, not controlling the brain. No one knows how the brain operates on a very deep theoretical level or how dbs works-we may never know, but we have some good cursory insights. Infrared light promises better and more accurate precision than large electrodes. This is also not a risk free procedure by any means, but for those who are suffering, more than most other medical advances, it can give back once-destroyed lives in dramatic Hollywood fashion.
My mother had a DBS placed in 07 for essential tremors on the left side, she would like to get it done on the right to stop the tremors .
I would like to know if this device St. Jude Libra has the ability to be monitored with MRI . We know that medtronics devices can with particular magnification but can’t find any documentation on the St. Jude devices please respond.
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None of the current DBS devices have been formally approved for use with MRI. However, many experienced centers have protocols to image the leads.
My husband has Young Onset Parkinson’s Disease since age 16. On 2007, he went into DBS surgery for a bilateral implant. Everything worked smoothly until a few months back when his right hand started trembling again. His doctor in Puerto Rico is doing everything she knows with the adjustments of voltage but nothing is keeping his hand from trembling. Could the DBS be at a point of not working properly for him? What should we do?
I would suggest he be seen in our troubleshooting DBS clinic’s that occur on Monday’s and Tuesdays. There are many reasons for this issue, and with tremor there is a good chance we can fix or improve the situation. 352-294-5400 is the number and Phyllis can set you up. We see one or two of these cases each week from all over the world.
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