Non-Invasive Technique - Potential Parkinson's Therapy
JAX® NOTES Issue 514, Summer 2009
Thanks to a group of researchers at Duke University, deep brain electrical stimulation (DBS), a Parkinson's disease therapy that requires highly invasive and precise surgery, may someday be a thing of the past (Fuentes et al. 2009). It may be replaced by a relatively easy and non-invasive technique called dorsal column stimulation (DCS). The team recently reported that DCS restores a considerable amount of mobility in dopamine‑depleted C57BL/6J (000664, B6) mice and rats. Furthermore, DCS can be used in combination with dopamine replacement therapy. This combination requires lower doses of l-dopa to restore motor function in dopamine‑depleted mice.
Dorsal column stimulation (DCS) restores a considerable
amount of mobility in dopamine-depleted B6 mice.
References
Fuentes R, Petersson P, Siesser WB, Caron MG, Nicolelis MA. 2009. Spinal cord stimulation restores locomotion in animal models of Parkinson's disease. Science 323:1578-82
