South Florida

DBS Therapy May Help Fight Symptoms of Parkinson's

Patients who battle severe, uncontrollable movements due to conditions like Parkinson's could soon find relief in a new medical procedure.

Deep Brain Stimulation, or DBS Therapy, involves implanting a pace maker-type device under the skin which releases electrodes to certain parts of the brain. Those electrical impulses, when coupled with medication, can significantly improve some neurological conditions in patients.

DBS Therapy can be used to treat a number of conditions, including Parkinson's disease, Epilepsy, Tourette syndrome and Dystonia among others.

The procedure is currently available at South Florida's Cleveland Clinic.

A promotional video on the procedure is available to watch on YouTube.

One South Florida man said before he got the device he couldn't button his own shirt.

“Mentally it destroyed me, it destroyed me. As I said being active all my life it destroyed me," Paul Graziano said.

Graziano and his wife Antoinette have been married 57 years. They ran super markets in New York before retiring to South Florida. Things got so bad for Graziano he couldn't sign checks and had to buy a rubber stamp.

So fast forward after some research and bring in Neurosurgeon Dr. Badih Adada of the Cleveland Clinic, who performs the procedure.

There’s an electrode planted in Paul’s head and a wire connects to a pacemaker-like device which powers the stimulation.

"By stimulating those areas we can regulate movement again and stop those symptoms," Adada said. “Patients can resume normal activities and even play contact sports."

"They did what they had to do with the surgery in my head and I haven’t had one day of pain," Graziano said.

Contact Us