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Posted on Oct 04, 2002, 7 a.m.
By Bill Freeman
A little-known device called a "deep brain stimulator" could help to relieve some of the symptoms of Parkinson's disease, say researchers from Stanford University and the San Francisco Veterans Administration hospital. The device, which uses electrical impulses acting as a type of pacemaker for the brain, was first tested in Europe more than 20 years ago, and has already been approved by the FDA for treating other brain conditions.
A little-known device called a "deep brain stimulator" could help to relieve some of the symptoms of Parkinson's disease, say researchers from Stanford University and the San Francisco Veterans Administration hospital. The device, which uses electrical impulses acting as a type of pacemaker for the brain, was first tested in Europe more than 20 years ago, and has already been approved by the FDA for treating other brain conditions. Some patients who have been given the pacemaker has seen an 85% improvement in their symptoms and have therefore been able to more than halve the amount of medication they were taking.
SOURCE/REFERENCE: Reported by www.sfgate.com on the 21st March 2001
