High-tech therapy for Parkinson's disease. (Neighborhood Heart Watch).

Deep brain stimulation (DBS)--approved early this year for treating Parkinson's disease--may help patients find relief from tremors, rigidity, stiffness, slowness of movement, and balance problems.

Neurologists at Cleveland Clinic in Ohio have been using the treatment for several years. "We consider it standard medical therapy," said Dr. Erwin Montgomery, head of the Movement Disorder Program and co-director of the Center for Functional and Restorative Neuroscience at the Cleveland Clinic. "Deep brain stimulation is very effective. There is, on average, an 80 percent reduction in rigidity and tremor."

Sophisticated imaging and recording equipment help doctors identify the precise location in a patient's brain where nerve signals generate the tremors and other symptoms. During DBS surgery, a very thin lead containing four electrode contacts is implanted into the target area. The lead connects to an impulse generator, or "pacemaker," which is placed under the skin over the chest.

Deep brain stimulation is an improved variation of an older surgery that involved destroying small parts of the brain within structures.

"The idea is that there is a little electrical current going into these areas, which `short circuits' the cells and thereby inactivates them," explained Dr. Eric Siemers, a professor of neurology at the Indiana University School of Medicine. "It is like a temporary lesion. The advantage, of course, is that you can turn the stimulator on and off, whereas when you make a permanent lesion, such as in the pallidotomy, you have destroyed the cells."

Patients with Parkinson's disease who are not satisfied with their level of control and have had an adequate trial of medications may be candidates for the procedure.

"We are concerned there are a great many patients who could benefit from the surgery who are not considered," said Dr. Montgomery. "Any patient whose quality of life is compromised should consult an expert about deep brain stimulation."

Patients treated with DBS in 1995 are said to be still doing well. To receive more information on the promising therapy from the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, call 888-223-6588.