Is Deep Brain Stimulation a Cure-all?
Is there anything that can’t be fixed by burrowing an electrode array into the deep tissues of the brain? With varying degrees of success, deep brain stimulators have been used to temporarily defog clouds of chronic depression, stamp out migraines before they cycle out of control, and steady the movement of people with Parkinson’s disease. Well, now you can add Tourette syndrome to this list of maladies. A study in the current issue of Neurology follows 18 patients with severe Tourette syndrome for two years after having neurosurgery. During the procedure, an array of electrodes is inserted into the patient’s thalamus. Wires running from the device connect to a pulse generator implanted just beneath the skin on the chest. All the parts are internal and, when activated, stimulate a highly targeted area of the brain. Those who continued with the treatment (3 either dropped out or were removed by the researchers) showed a significant decrease in the motor and verbal tics associated with t
