At Ohio State, the course of treatment is decided upon and delivered by a multidisciplinary team of physicians. These neurological experts have the latest technologies available to them for effective treatment of their patients. Deep Brain Stimulation – Deep brain stimulation (DBS), which requires surgically implanting electrodes into various areas of the brain, has been used in the past to manage tremors in Parkinson’s disease. DBS has shown promise in treating epilepsy and multiple sclerosis (MS) and can also be used to treat a variety of unrelated conditions, including:
The difference in treatment for the different disorders is the site targeted by the deep brain stimulator. For instance, in Parkinson's disease, the DBS target is the subthalamic nucleus; in essential tremor, the thalamus; and in cluster headaches, the hypothalamus. The success of the Deep Brain Stimulation program at OSU Medical Center relies on the strong interrelationship between the Department of Neurological Surgery and the Department of Neurology's movement disorder specialists. A close working relationship between the two departments allows optimal selection of surgical candidates. The DBS program also relies on a close collaboration with Neuroradiology because the crucial stereotactic planning depends on high-quality MR imaging scans. Presurgical evaluations for the DBS program incorporate detailed patient histories and high-resolution MRI neuroradiography. OSU neurosurgeons work with referring neurologists or psychiatrists to effectively diagnose and treat patients’ neurological conditions. Gamma Knife Surgery – The gamma knife is not actually a "knife," in the sense of a surgical blade. It is a method of administering high-dose radiation with surgical precision to a very specific area of tissue within the cranial region while affecting an extremely small volume of surrounding healthy tissue. The gamma knife can be effective for the treatment of neurological disorders such as tic douloureux (trigeminal neuralgia), especially for patients who are too old or too weak for traditional neurological surgery. OSU Medical Center is the only central Ohio facility that offers gamma knife surgery. |
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