Deep Brain Stimulation News and Research

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Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is a surgical procedure used to treat a variety of disabling neurological symptoms—most commonly the debilitating symptoms of Parkinson’s disease (PD), such as tremor, rigidity, stiffness, slowed movement, and walking problems. The procedure is also used to treat essential tremor, a common neurological movement disorder. At present, the procedure is used only for patients whose symptoms cannot be adequately controlled with medications.

Researchers develop stable brain implant based on anti-inflammatory coating

Complex neurotechnological devices are required to directly select and influence brain waves inside the skull's interior. Although it has become relatively easy to implement the devices, researchers are still faced with challenges when trying to keep them running properly in living organisms over time.

5 Apr 2017

Noninvasive dTMS technique helps obese people lose weight by changing gut microbiota composition

A new study finds that a noninvasive electromagnetic brain stimulation technique helps obese people lose weight, partly by changing the composition of their intestinal bacteria—the so-called gut microbiota.

4 Apr 2017

Experts to present diverse advances in neuromodulation at INS congress

Experts will present diverse advances in neuromodulation from May 27 to June 1, 2017 at the 13th World Congress of the International Neuromodulation Society in Edinburgh, Scotland.

30 Mar 2017

Man with quadriplegia uses implanted technologies to restore arm and hand movements

Bill Kochevar grabbed a mug of water, drew it to his lips and drank through the straw. His motions were slow and deliberate, but then Kochevar hadn't moved his right arm or hand for eight years.

29 Mar 2017

Deep brain stimulation could be effective treatment option for patients with severe depressions

Treatment with deep brain stimulation can provide lasting relief to patients suffering from previously non-treatable, severe forms of depression several years into the therapy or even eliminate symptoms entirely.

20 Mar 2017

MIT researchers develop precise technique to measure dopamine in the brain

MIT researchers have devised a way to measure dopamine in the brain much more precisely than previously possible, which should allow scientists to gain insight into dopamine's roles in learning, memory, and emotion.

3 Mar 2017

Deep brain stimulation may help improve mental, physical health in patients with anorexia nervosa

Deep brain stimulation might alter the brain circuits that drive anorexia nervosa symptoms and help improve patients’ mental and physical health, according to a small study published in The Lancet Psychiatry.

25 Feb 2017

IDSA guidelines: Team approach vital to successful treatment of complex neurological infections

A team approach is vital to the successful diagnosis and treatment of complex neurological infections related to placement of devices in the brain, or as a result of neurosurgery or head trauma.

16 Feb 2017

New infusion therapy may help avoid debilitating symptoms in Parkinson's disease patients

Constant infusion of a drug now used intermittently to "rescue" patients with Parkinson's from bouts of immobility may also help avoid these debilitating symptoms and smooth out their movement throughout the day, physician-scientists say.

14 Feb 2017

Researchers find chemical link between two problem proteins that cause Parkinson's disease

Researchers report they have discovered how two problem proteins known to cause Parkinson's disease are chemically linked, suggesting that someday, both could be neutralized by a single drug designed to target the link.

2 Feb 2017

Deep brain stimulation can reduce heroin relapse in rat models of addiction, TSRI study shows

Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have found that deep brain stimulation (DBS) can greatly reduce the compulsion to use heroin in standard rat models of addiction.

2 Feb 2017

Tau pathology underlies deterioration of spatial cognition in Alzheimer's disease

Columbia University Medical Center researchers have discovered that the spatial disorientation that leads to wandering in many Alzheimer's disease patients is caused by the accumulation of tau protein in navigational nerve cells in the brain.

20 Jan 2017

Experimental treatment shows early promise for improving Parkinson's symptoms

About fourteen years ago, Bill Crawford noticed a persistent twitching in one of his fingers that was interfering with his rehearsal time as the music pastor at Porter Memorial Church.

6 Jan 2017

UAB investigators receive BRAIN Initiative award to study new DBS technology for Parkinson's disease

The University of Alabama at Birmingham has received a BRAIN Initiative grant of $7.3 million over five years from the National Institutes of Health to study new technology that could improve outcomes from deep brain stimulation, an increasingly important treatment for Parkinson's disease and other movement disorders.

18 Oct 2016

Salk scientist wins NIH grant for new technique to precisely target specific cells using sound waves

Salk Associate Professor Sreekanth Chalasani has been awarded a grant from the National Institutes of Health's Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies Initiative for developing a way to selectively activate brain, heart, muscle and other cells using ultrasonic waves, which could be a boon to neuroscience research as well as medicine.

14 Oct 2016

Renishaw launches unique healthcare facility at Miskin site in South Wales

Global precision engineering company Renishaw plc has announced a new Healthcare Centre of Excellence at its Miskin site, located close to Cardiff, South Wales.

From Renishaw plc - Spectroscopy 5 Oct 2016

Clinical trial to examine effectiveness of diabetes drug to slow or stop progression of Parkinson's

Type II diabetes and Parkinson's disease may not appear to have much in common but a look below the surface reveals important molecular similarities that provide a potential target for fighting Parkinson's.

8 Sep 2016

MRI-guided focused ultrasound treatment improves quality of life in patients with essential tremor

Treatment with MRI-guided focused ultrasound significantly improves tremors and quality of life in patients with essential tremor (ET), the most common movement disorder, according to a study published in the August 25 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

27 Aug 2016

UCLA researchers use noninvasive ultrasound technique to jump-start the brain of coma patient

A 25-year-old man recovering from a coma has made remarkable progress following a treatment at UCLA to jump-start his brain using ultrasound.

25 Aug 2016

New noninvasive treatment option improves quality of life in patients with essential tremor