Re: DBS/STN?

["J. R. Bruman" <jrbruman@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Raymond Strand wrote:
>
> I have been in contact with an old friend of mine (Minnesota).
> He has been a free-lance technical writer for Medtronics (Minnesota
> company).
> He has had some work that relates to D B S.
> My friend is not a decision maker with the company, but,
> will let me know what is going on with new developments as they happen.
>  Any major developments, will be  available as news releases,
> and therefore available  to the list  through that route.
  It has been a good experience for him  to talk to me, because
> knowing someone with Parkinsons puts a face it.
> Perry Cohen wrote:
> >
> > Almost one year after the unanimous recommendation for approval by the FDa
> > Advisory Committee (I was non-voting patient representative), DBS is NOT yet
> > approved by FDA. It is only available under experimental protocols.  While
> > neither the sponsor nor the FDA have made public what the concerns have 
> > been,
> > both have reported that they are working very hard to resolve the issues.  I
> > believe that some missing data and other additional information requested 
> > at the
> > hearing has been at least part of the problem.

Our PIENET Fellow-Traveler Chris van der Linden has told us that
DBS is already approved in Europe and that he thinks conventional
pallidotomy is obsolete. In the abundant published research reports
I see little or no adverse effects, other than risks of bleeding,
infection, or other injury that are common to any invasive brain
surgery. However it seems that precisely how DBS performs its
miracle, and the precise location of the stimulating electrode(s)
that is best for any given array of PD symptoms, are, unlike the
counterpart knowledge about pallidotomy,  still under very
intensive investigation. Cheers,
Joe

--
J. R. Bruman (818) 789-3694
3527 Cody Road
Sherman Oaks, CA 91403-5013

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