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Surgeons fight Parkinson's with wires deep in brain
Sophie Goodchild, Health and Social Affairs Correspondent7 Aug 2009
London doctors are conducting the world's first clinical trials on a pioneering "deep brain stimulation" treatment that could ease the symptoms of Parkinson's disease.
Neurosurgeons at Imperial College Healthcare will use mini-pacemakers to stimulate areas of the brain affected by the crippling condition.
Pilot studies have shown the procedure can relieve common symptoms of advanced Parkinson's such as falling over. Surgeons at Imperial will start trials next month on a new treatment which targets a deeper part of the brain than ever before.
Doctors will implant a battery-operated pacemaker into a patient's chest. This will deliver an electric current to leads implanted in the brain. The electric signal replicates dopamine, the chemical which allows messages to be sent to parts of the brain that co-ordinate movement. Parkinson's kills cells that produce the chemical.
Consultant neurosurgeon Dipankar Nandi, who is leading the two-year Imperial trial, said this advanced form of deep brain stimulation could transform the lives of Parkinson's patients. He said: "Our trial is the first of its kind to objectively assess this cutting-edge treatment. The hope is that it will help patients who don't respond to existing treatments. The part of the brain we're targeting is like the body's command and control centre - it governs movement. PD drugs are expensive and this will save money."
Deep brain stimulation has helped more than 130 patients in the UK but the new procedure will bring hope to thousands who have been told they do not respond to existing treatments.
Michelin-starred chef Fergus Henderson underwent deep brain stimulation in 2005 after being diagnosed with Parkinson's at the age of 32. The founder of the St John Bar & Restaurant in Smithfield credits the operation with improving his quality of life. He called for deep brain stimulation to be made more widely available on the NHS.
He said: "I'm back to normal. The way I look at it is that they drilled into my skull and now I can cook again."
Experts believe that up to 10 per cent of Britain's 120,000 Parkinson's sufferers could be helped by deep-brain stimulation or other forms of brain surgery.
