BRAIN PACEMAKERS Madison Moreau BME 281 September 26, 2012

What Are Brain Pacemakers? Small battery powered pacemaker that emits electronic impulses Inserted in affected area of brain Commonly used in Parkinson’s Disease patients, epileptics, and people who have tremors Also known as a method of deep brain stimulation Have over 60,000 customizable options

How Are They Inserted? Hole is drilled through parietal bone Small electrodes are placed in area of brain that needs to be stimulated Wires are threaded around affected area, around ears, and down to chest Pacemaker device is placed near the center of patients chest

Deep Brain Stimulation DBS is a surgical treatment that uses brain pacemakers Treats disorders such as Parkinson’s Disease, chronic pain, depression, tremor, and dystonia Doctor’s are still unsure of how it works exactly FDA approved for PD, dystonia and tremor Serious side effects Ignore metal on maxilla and mandible

History Brain pacemakers were developed first in France in 1987 Old treatments used to include burning of the affected tissue Now small electrodes are placed where the tissue would have been burned away Their objective is to re-stimulate the area and try to make it respond to normal brain activity

Benefits Effective, approved way to treat tremor, PD, and dystonia Used to treat major depression and chronic pain in body Researched to be used against Alzheimer’s Disease to slow down the progression of the disease Can stimulate areas of the brain that could not be done in any other way Decrease in medication

Risks Like most brain surgery, DBS can be very dangerous Serious complications include: Hemorrhage (1-2%) Infection (3-5%) Bad probe/ sensors in brain Sensors become dislodged Pacemakers need to have their battery replaced Pacemakers settings can only be changed by reopening the area where the device was implanted

Application on Parkinson’s Disease Insertion of DBS probe DBS does not cure PD – it only slows it down Used for patients that have several side effects to medication or who’s condition is growing worse on the medication DBS is programmed to be used only when the brain needs to be stimulated Not continuously Normally electrodes are placed in one of three regions: Subthalamic nucleus Globus pallidus interna Zona incerta

Future Help cure non-motor diseases A pacemaker that runs off of the electronic impulses from the body instead of a battery Become FDA approved for AD, major depression, epileptics and other neurodegenerative diseases Easier to program without having to perform another surgery Safer – Less major risks

Works Cited "Cerebral Cortex." Deep Brain Stimulation. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Sept "Deep Brain Stimulation." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 19 Sept Web. 24 Sept Kranner, Andres, MD. N.p., Nov Web.. Laxton, AW. "Result Filters." National Center for Biotechnology Information. U.S. National Library of Medicine, n.d. Web.. Lieb, Wolfgang, MD. JAMA. N.p., 16 Dec Web.. "MARKTECH." The Technology of the Mark of the Beast. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Sept Pedersen, Tracy. "Brain Pacemaker Relieves Severe Depression | Psych Central News." Psych Central.com. N.p., n.d. Web.. Song, Sora. "How Deep-Brain Stimulation Works." Time. Time, 16 July Web. 23 Sept

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