Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) has been used to treat intractable pain for several decades. More recently, use of this technology has proven to be a safe and effective treatment for essential tremor, as well as tremor and involuntary movements associated with Parkinson's disease, dystonia and multiple sclerosis, with more than 35,000 DBS implants worldwide. The applications for DBS therapy are expanding rapidly.

The procedure is comparable to that of a cardiac pacemaker in which the pacemaker helps maintain an appropriate cardiac rhythm. DBS is presumed to help modulate dysfunctional circuits in the brain so that the brain can function more effectively. This is accomplished by sending continuous electrical signals to specific target areas of the brain, which block the impulses that cause neurological dysfunctions. These targets are the ventralis intermediate nucleus of the thalamus (Vim), the globus pallidus pars interna (GPi), and the subthalamic nucleus (STN).

To learn more about Deep Brain Stimulation, visit AANS.org

Information sourced from https://www.aans.org/Patients/Neurosurgical-Conditions-and-Treatments/De...