Parkinson’s Disease People live long with Deep Brain Stimulation Therapy
Neurosurgeon/Brain and Spine Neurosurgeon, Jaslok Hospital, 30 years of experience
DBS (Deep Brain Stimulation) therapy helps to extend life expectancy in Parkinson’s disease. Medication may manage symptoms of PD (Parkinson’s disease) at the initial stage, whereas DBS helps at the advanced stage in the symptoms of PD. It is as effective as the medication.
Let us tell you in detail about Parkinson’s disease and Deep Brain Stimulation Therapy through this article.
- What is Parkinson’s disease?
- What are the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease?
- What is the treatment for Parkinson’s Disease?
- What is Deep Brain Stimulation Therapy?
- What are the benefits of Deep Brain Stimulation Therapy for Parkinson’s people?
- What is the cost of Deep Brain Stimulation Therapy for Parkinson’s people?
What is Parkinson’s disease?
Parkinson’s is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder that is also considered a chronic disease. Nerve cells in substantia nigra produce the neurotransmitter dopamine which amongst its many functions, controls body movement. A major role is played by dopamine in Parkinson’s disease.
The disease was named after physician James Parkinson who first described it in “Shaking Palsy” in 1817.
People can make smooth and coordinated muscle movements of the body with the help of the “Dopamine” chemical. When cells of the substantia nigra begin to die due to degeneration, there is a lack of dopamine and this results in Parkinson’s disease.
What are the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease?
Let’s understand the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease-
Early non-motor symptoms of Parkinson’s disease
- Not able to get smell which is called anosmia
- Constipation
- Disturbed sleep ( Know more about- What is Insomnia? )
- Body pain ( Know more about- Central pain syndrome )
Motor symptoms of Parkinson’s disease
- Small or cramped handwriting
- Change in the voice of the person
- Slow body movements, known as Bradykinesia.
- Shaking hand, body which occurs at the resting time of a person, it is called a Tremor.
- Stiffness of legs, arms, even full body.
- Imbalance problem.
Many other symptoms are included, such as monotonous facial expression, slurred speech, sleeping disturbance, depression, anxiety, hallucinations, etc. as the disease progresses. ( Know more about- What is Depression? )
Each Parkinson’s person has a different experience with the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. ( Know more about- What are natural remedies for mental illness? )
What is the treatment for Parkinson’s Disease?
Here we need to understand the different stages of Parkinson’s disease and its treatment for people. There’s no specific treatment available for Parkinson’s disease that can cure it entirely as even the root cause of health concern is also unknown.
The early Parkinson’s stage is manageable by medication. In the more advanced stage, severe symptoms make the Parkinson’s person more dependent on others.
During the advanced stage, it is very difficult to manage the patient with only medication, the neurosurgeon will suggest Deep Brain Stimulation therapy for the Parkinson’s patient.
What is Deep Brain Stimulation Therapy?
DBS is the process of inserting electrodes into the brain through surgery. They are directed to specific areas in the brain using stereotactic techniques. The electrodes are then connected to an impulse generator (battery). This is also called a pacemaker. It is similar to cardiac pacemakers. Once implanted, the programming for the DBS can be done externally through a clinician’s programmer. Even a patient gets a programmer with which they can increase and decrease the current. Deep Brain Stimulation is much superior to the ablative surgeries that were in practice in the past for Parkinson’s disease and various other movement disorders.
Parkinson’s disease may not cause death directly, if Parkinson’s people do not care properly at the right time, it may lead to severe complications. Deep brain stimulation (DBS) has become a lifeline in the treatment of advanced Parkinson’s disease (PD) in the last decade. It’s associated with less morbidity & there are noticeable tremendous improvements in motor functions and quality of life in PD patients. Several researchers have reported that DBS can extend the life span of patients suffering from Parkinson’s disease. Follett and colleagues from the USA found that the DBS can reduce the incidence of complications due to comorbidities (associated medical diseases) that can be life-threatening for PD patients. E.g. If the patient gets Pneumonia, his chances of a good recovery are much higher if he has DBS than if he did not have. We have several patients that have undergone DBS surgery and subsequently required treatment for bypass surgery, prostate surgery, medical illness, or even knee replacements. All these patients were better off due to DBS and had a smooth postoperative recovery.
Apart from deep brain stimulation therapy and ECT therapy, skull base surgery, and other brain surgery are done with great success in various hospitals, by the best neurosurgeons in India.
Successful Deep Brain stimulation depends on mainly three parameters.
- Selection of the right candidate for DBS surgery by doctors.
- The best surgical lead placement of the DBS electrodes in the brain.
- Right knowledge about postoperative programming of the pacemaker. ( Know more about- What is Pacemaker Surgery? )
What are the benefits of Deep Brain Stimulation Therapy for Parkinson’s people?
There are several benefits of Deep Brain Stimulation surgery for Parkinson’s people. Let’s have a look at the below points:
- Controlling Dyskinesia: Dyskinesia is known as an involuntary body movement of advanced Parkinson’s disease. DBS is one of the most effective actions of controlling body movement. Parkinson’s Patients have a 90% reduction in dyskinesia after DBS surgery.
- Best to control Tremors & Rigidity: Tremors and rigidity are the main disabilities suffered by Parkinson’s people. Many women patients find tremors socially embarrassing. Tremor makes Parkinson’s people feel like handicapped people, especially for high-performing professionals. Deep Brain Stimulation therapy is very effective for controlling tremors and rigidity in the body.
- Better Control of Motor Fluctuations: DBS is the best therapy to reduce the severity of motor fluctuations. On the other hand, consumption of drugs will be reduced up to 37% to 61%.
- Help to make an Independent person: Deep Brain Stimulation therapy improves several symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. Parkinson’s people can turn from handicapped people to active people by this surgery. They can perform daily living activities without depending on assistance.
Reduction of medications: There is significant proof that DBS reduces the amount of medication for Parkinson’s people. As symptoms of disease increase due to advanced periods and dose of medicines also increase parallel. As a result, Patients need to struggle with the severe side effects of medicines, which is another challenge for Parkinson’s people.
Better Quality of life of PD people: Due to symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, people have problematic social life and emotional issues. With the help of surgery, one can get an improved quality of life with emotional well-being.
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- Motor symptoms are the major handicap as the disease advances and improvement in these symptoms translates into significantly improved quality of life.
- The medications can be used to control Parkinson’s symptoms to a certain extent. With the ongoing monitoring and studies for Parkinson’s disease treatments underway, there’s a hope that surgical procedures like Deep Brain Stimulation Therapy can bring about survival hope in the patients.
- More than 90% of people with Parkinson’s have reported significant clinical benefits after DBS. Deep Brain stimulation surgery is the best option to break the cycle as it restores most of the functions of patients that are disabled because of Parkinson’s disease and also gives them a smooth quality of one period.
What is the cost of Deep Brain Stimulation Therapy for Parkinson’s people?
The total cost of Deep Brain Stimulation Therapy in India can range from around INR 5,00,000 to INR 15,00,000. There are many large hospitals and experienced doctors for Deep Brain Stimulation Therapy in India. The cost of Deep Brain Stimulation Therapy varies across different hospitals.
If you are coming to India from abroad just for the surgery, apart from the cost of Deep Brain Stimulation Therapy, there will be some additional expenses, such as the cost of the hotel stay and local travel. Apart from this, after the surgery, the patient has to stay in the hospital for 10 days and in the hotel for 14 days for recovery. So, the total cost of Deep Brain Stimulation Therapy comes to a total of INR 18,00,000.
We hope that we could answer all your questions regarding Parkinson’s Disease and Deep Brain Stimulation Therapy through this article.
If you have any further queries regarding Parkinson’s Disease and Deep Brain Stimulation Therapy, contact a Neurosurgeon.
We only aim to provide you with information through this article. We do not recommend any medicine or treatment to anyone. Only a qualified doctor can give you good advice and the correct treatment plan.
