Outcomes of Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) have been excellent in 60-65 years age bracket patients, shares North India’s noted neurosurgeon Dr Deepak Tyagi
National Institute On Aging (NIA) describes Parkinson’s disease as a brain disorder that causes unintended or uncontrollable movements, such as shaking or trembling, stiffness, and difficulty with balance and coordination.
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Although most people with Parkinson’s first develop the disease after age 60, about 5% to 10% experience onset before the age of 50. While virtually anyone could be at risk for developing Parkinson’s, some research studies suggest this disease affects more men than women.
Symptoms of the disease in its initial stages are extremely subtle and largely go undetected. Even after diagnosis, there is as of now no cure for Parkinson’s disease. Patients are initially put on medicines which do help relieve some symptoms in the early years.
However, with the progression of the disease when medicines become increasingly ineffective and the symptoms become more pronounced, at this stage neurosurgeons consider surgical interventions.
One such effective surgical intervention, which has been around for a couple of decades, but which is gaining ground with advancements and improved devices, is deep brain stimulation (DBS).
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“Though still expensive and out of reach of most patients (the whole surgical process, including implants, costs around Rs 15-16 lakhs), DBS has proved very effective in controlling the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease in 95% of the 20-odd patients in the age group 60-65 years whom I have treated so far,” shares noted neurosurgeon of North India Dr Deepak Tyagi.
Currently providing his services at Grecian Multispeciality Hospital Mohali, which is now a part of a fast growing 15-hospitals strong Park Group of Hospitals in North India, Dr Tyagi, however, is quick to add that the outcomes, however, are dependent on a variety of factors, among them being age upwards of 65 years.
Addressing a press event in the presence of other members of his team and top functionaries of the hospital management, he admitted that though some success has been achieved in treating a couple of older patients (around 70 years of age) with DBS, he himself is not fully satisfied with the results and would rather take up patients in the 60-65 years age bracket.
He informed that as on today he has a big backlog of patients waiting for the DBS surgery, but with the top management of Park Group of Hospitals providing a host of facilities and team of professionals from various fields required for the surgery all under one roof, they now have the capacity to take up more surgeries in the coming months.
What does deep brain stimulation entail
Dr Tyagi explained that DBS is a surgical procedure in which they implant very thin electrodes through tiny incisions on a pre-determined path, avoiding important blood vessels and nerves, into a part of the brain and connect them with wires to a small electrical device (pacemaker of the brain) implanted in the chest.
The pacemaker of the brain and electrodes painlessly stimulate specific areas in the brain that control movement in a way that may help stop many of the movement-related symptoms of Parkinson’s, such as tremor, slowness of movement, and rigidity.
The surgical procedure is conducted live with the patient kept fully conscious during the process to be able to monitor real time the impact the stimulus at various electrical current levels is having on various movement-related symptoms of the patient.
The patient is discharged 2-3 days after surgery.
About Grecian Hospital, part of Park Group of Hospitals
According to Samrat Deb, Chief Administrator, Grecian-Park Super Specialty Hospital, Mohali, is the largest hospital in the region, offering world-class medical care, super specialty treatments, and care. With 500 beds, the hospital fulfils the healthcare needs of the region with state-of-the-art medical equipment and highly trained professionals. Park Group operates 15 hospitals across the country.
For more details:
https://www.parkhospital.in/hospital/grecian-superspeciality-hospital-in-mohali
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