A new technology to treat movement disorders, especially Parkinson’s disease, has been in use for a few weeks in the Perrino hospital. It is a rechargeable stimulator, the Percept Rc, capable of recording neuronal signals and adapting the therapy.
«The implantation of this revolutionary stimulator – explains Augusto Rini, director of the Neurology department – was possible thanks to the speed and foresight of the health management of the Brindisi Local Health Authority, which promptly authorized the use of the technique just a month after its introduction. entered into the market. This is the first step towards the so-called adaptive stimulation, which allows us to reduce consumption and improve performance.”
«The fact of having treated a patient with essential tremor, a pathology generally considered benign but which can have a significant impact on the quality of life – adds Francesco Romeo, director of the Neurosurgery department – makes us even more proud of the result. Our patient had a particularly disabling twenty-year tremor, with great difficulty even in carrying out common and banal activities, such as drinking a glass of water. We hope that the surgery carried out (thalamic DBS), supported by the new technology (Percept Rc) will allow him to stay well for as long as possible.”
Deep brain stimulation or DBS is a technique that over the last 30 years has gradually revolutionized the field of movement disorders, especially Parkinson’s. It is based on the principle that in these diseases the brain anomalies are not structural but functional, with some areas called nuclei operating in a pathological manner, generally showing hyperexcitability and in turn creating alterations in the functioning of areas connected to them.
The Dbs method, by implanting depth electrodes in the nuclei in question, modulates and interferes with the pathological activity, freeing the downstream structures and allowing them to function more physiologically.
