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| Dr. Jerrold Vitek |
MANKATO — A leading expert on Parkinson's disease visited Mankato Tuesday for outreach on what he says is an underutilized treatment for patients with the illness.
Dr. Jerrold Vitek, chair of the University of Minnesota Medical School’s department of neurology, told a group of alumni, fellow doctors and patients that just 1 in 10 eligible people with Parkinson's disease treat it with a procedure known as deep brain stimulation, or DBS. This is despite the surgery’s proven effectiveness limiting the disease’s symptoms once medication is deemed insufficient.
Deep brain stimulation basically does for the brain what a pacemaker does for the heart. Tiny wires are surgically placed on the parts of the brain controlling movement. A pacemaker-like device is then placed in the chest, allowing doctors to adjust stimulation to the brain. Location of the wire needs to be precise. If it’s off by even a millimeter, the therapy's effectiveness is severely diminished.
While the therapy is already largely effective in cases where the wires are correctly placed, Vitek’s team of researchers is working to hone the process, making it easier to pinpoint where the wires need to be placed in each individual.
“We think DBS could be honed to be patient specific, so based on your symptoms we would put it in a different location of the brain and target a particular site,” he said.
Nearly as important as the research is getting more information on the procedure out to patients, he said. His Tuesday presentation on the topic was planned with that purpose in mind. He said a lack of information is why more people with Parkinson's haven’t sought out DBS.
“That really is a major reason why people haven’t gotten it who should get it or could get it,” he said.
Charlene Washa, of Le Center, heard about Vitek’s presentation at the Courtyard Marriott through her Parkinson’s support group in Mankato. She was diagnosed in the past year and has treated it with medication and physical therapy at River’s Edge Hospital and Clinic in St. Peter.
She said treatment has gone well, but if it came down to it, she'd consider DBS — even if the idea of drilling a small hole through her brain made her wary.
“Possibly I’ll someday be a candidate for deep brain stimulation, and I’m trying to learn as much about Parkinson’s as I can,” she said.
Washa said she was excited to hear research was being done on the topic so close to home.
Vitek’s research into DBS has been aided in part by an $18 million MnDRIVE research investment given to the university by the Legislature in 2013. More recently, the university also became one of just nine institutions in the country to receive a Udall Center research grant from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. The grant allows more opportunities to develop better treatments for Parkinson's.
Beyond recognition, Vitek said the continuing research should provide optimism that an even more effective form of deep brain stimulation will be available to patients experiencing Parkinson's in the near future.
“There’s hope is what I would say,” he said. “Money is being spent and people are working hard to figure it out.”
Anyone interested in learning more, including whether they're eligible for DBS treatment, is encouraged to call the University of Minnesota's DBS hotline at 844-480-8200.
http://www.mankatofreepress.com/news/researcher-talks-parkinson-s-treatment-advances/article_ccbae8c2-c70e-11e6-a7ac-83cb452b672c.html
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