Consultant
neurosurgeon Ludvic Zrinzo (right) testing the deep brain stimulation
procedure on Andrew Falzon, one 0f the first five patients to undergo
the groundbreaking surgical procedure in Malta.
Maltese neurosurgeon Ludvic Zrinzo and his team at a London
hospital are revolutionising an established surgical procedure, bringing
new hope to sufferers of neurological disorders.
The first Maltese patients underwent this procedure – deep brain stimulation (DBS) – at Mater Dei Hospital in July and the technique is now also being applied to British patients with severe refractory Tourette syndrome.
Tourette is a condition that causes involuntary tics including movements or sounds that cannot be controlled.
In a case that was all over the British media yesterday, an English female sufferer of the Tourette syndrome was fitted with a “brain pacemaker” to rid her of debilitating muscle movements that almost drove her to suicide.
The relentless muscle jerks made it difficult for her to breathe and walk and stopped her from cooking, driving and reading.
The pacemaker allowed her to return to normal life, she told the media.
Mr Zrinzo, the 39-year-old doctor who leads these surgeries at London’s National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, insisted that DBS did not provide a cure but could offer significant improvements in symptoms and the quality of life of both patients and their families.
“There is solid evidence that deep brain stimulation improves symptoms and quality of life in conditions such as Parkinson’s disease, dystonia and tremor. Research has shown promise in treating severe cases of some chronic pain syndromes and obsessive-compulsive disorder.
“So far, we have encouraging results on Tourette’s patients,” he said.
Claims that the treatment might be a placebo were quelled when a patient who had been installed with a brain pacemaker two years ago suddenly experienced a re-emergence of the symptoms when the batteries of the device were exhausted.
Similar studies with DBS are being carried out to treat cluster headaches, which are described by sufferers as the equivalent of having ahot iron rod thrust into their eye.
In severe cases, the headaches can last up to three hours and patients can get up to 10 attacks in a day.
Such a headache, estimated to affect one in 1,000 people, is unresponsive to medication in 10 per cent of patients.
“Considering that these patients had tried everything else and remained resistant, the reaction to the treatment we keep seeing is very encouraging,” Mr Zrinzo said.
The procedure is similar to a heart pacemaker, where electrodes are implanted deep within the brain and connected to a neurostimulator that lies underneath the skin on the chest wall.
The electrodes in the brain are connected by wires that pass underneath the skin and are connected to the pacemaker implanted on the chest wall.
The computer inside it then allows doctors to change the way the brain works, treating symptoms, most commonly those of Parkinson’s disease, such as tremor, rigidity, stiffness, slowed movement and walking problems.
The first Maltese patients underwent this procedure – deep brain stimulation (DBS) – at Mater Dei Hospital in July and the technique is now also being applied to British patients with severe refractory Tourette syndrome.
Tourette is a condition that causes involuntary tics including movements or sounds that cannot be controlled.
In a case that was all over the British media yesterday, an English female sufferer of the Tourette syndrome was fitted with a “brain pacemaker” to rid her of debilitating muscle movements that almost drove her to suicide.
The relentless muscle jerks made it difficult for her to breathe and walk and stopped her from cooking, driving and reading.
The pacemaker allowed her to return to normal life, she told the media.
Mr Zrinzo, the 39-year-old doctor who leads these surgeries at London’s National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, insisted that DBS did not provide a cure but could offer significant improvements in symptoms and the quality of life of both patients and their families.
“There is solid evidence that deep brain stimulation improves symptoms and quality of life in conditions such as Parkinson’s disease, dystonia and tremor. Research has shown promise in treating severe cases of some chronic pain syndromes and obsessive-compulsive disorder.
“So far, we have encouraging results on Tourette’s patients,” he said.
Claims that the treatment might be a placebo were quelled when a patient who had been installed with a brain pacemaker two years ago suddenly experienced a re-emergence of the symptoms when the batteries of the device were exhausted.
Similar studies with DBS are being carried out to treat cluster headaches, which are described by sufferers as the equivalent of having ahot iron rod thrust into their eye.
In severe cases, the headaches can last up to three hours and patients can get up to 10 attacks in a day.
Such a headache, estimated to affect one in 1,000 people, is unresponsive to medication in 10 per cent of patients.
“Considering that these patients had tried everything else and remained resistant, the reaction to the treatment we keep seeing is very encouraging,” Mr Zrinzo said.
The procedure is similar to a heart pacemaker, where electrodes are implanted deep within the brain and connected to a neurostimulator that lies underneath the skin on the chest wall.
The electrodes in the brain are connected by wires that pass underneath the skin and are connected to the pacemaker implanted on the chest wall.
The computer inside it then allows doctors to change the way the brain works, treating symptoms, most commonly those of Parkinson’s disease, such as tremor, rigidity, stiffness, slowed movement and walking problems.
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