Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) is a rapidly expanding therapy where stimulating electrodes are placed in the brain or around the vagus nerve. DBS is being used to treat (or soon will be) epilepsy, Parkinson’s, dystonia, depression, pain, obesity, and Tourette’s. This article in Wired gives some excellent background. There are also a number of impressive videos demonstrating this therapy posted on YouTube.
The precise means by which DBS is effective is largely a matter of conjecture; many talented researchers are actively trying to better understand exactly why electrical stimulations successfully treat these conditions.
Possible questions for debate:
- Are there any other applications for DBS?
- Any guesses about other conditions it might be used to treat in the future?
- Are there any drawbacks to this therapy?
- What are the ethical implications?
- How significant are the surgical risks?
- What are the main engineering challenges?
Discuss!
on 28 Sep 2007 at 12:58 am
Deep Brain Stimulation to Reward Circuitry Alleviates Anhedonia in Refractory Major Depression.
Neuropsychopharmacology. 2007 Apr 11;
I think this is an interesting subject.
Do u know how could i get the entire paper?
on 28 Sep 2007 at 1:01 am
look at this:
Inpatient rehabilitation after deep brain stimulator placement: A case series.
Parkinsonism Relat Disord. 2007 Aug 28
on 28 Sep 2007 at 1:03 am
if you could find the source , let me know!
keep me posted.
on 03 Oct 2007 at 11:51 am
Interesting fact:
There are more than 35,000 DBS implants worldwide.
http://www.NeurosurgeryToday.org
on 03 Oct 2007 at 11:51 am
Risks/Challeges:
The electrodes are placed in the subthalamic nucleus, and are attached to a wire passed under the skin to a battery (stimulator), which is placed under the collarbone (during a separate surgery). The stimulator is not turned on until the brain has healed (few weeks). A simple magnet can turn off the stimulator.
The most obvious risk to me is getting close to any magnetic field. Patients with DSB implants should also avoid MRI.
on 03 Oct 2007 at 12:06 pm
Other applications of DBS include: Parkinson’s disease, Dystonia, Multiple Sclerosis, Phantom Limb Pain, Depression, Tourette, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and other serious psychiatric disorders.
on 03 Oct 2007 at 1:39 pm
Videos:
Deep Brain Stimulation for Parkinson’s Disease Part 1: (Time: 08:33 )
http://youtube.com/watch?v=xejclvwbwsk
Deep Brain Stimulation for Parkinson’s Disease Part 2: (Time: 09:49 )
http://youtube.com/watch?v=IOHtUzW02cg
on 04 Oct 2007 at 3:56 pm
These are the articles Shohreh was looking for: (right click to save pdfs)
1. Deep Brain Stimulation to Reward Circuitry Alleviates Anhedonia in Refractory Major Depression.
2. Inpatient rehabilitation after deep brain stimulator placement: A case series
on 04 Oct 2007 at 5:51 pm
Here’s a brief summary of some of the things we discussed at the 10/3/2007 meeting.
1. Dr. Obeid talked about the patients he met last week at the USC Biomimetic Microelectronics Center.
2. We discussed some of the theories behind why deep brain stimulation worked. Dr. Peridier wondered if it wasn’t related to the phenomenon where dental (or jaw) pain can be reduced by listening to music – a bandwidth sharing issue perhaps?
3. We discussed the potential ethical issues behind implanting a patient with a medical device such as DBS whose means of efficacy is poorly understood.
4. Item 3 led us to wonder how drugs like aspirin and ibuprofen work. We resolved to look at the issue for our next meeting.