Parkinson’s disease is a debilitating condition and when an individual is diagnosed with it, it can be quite devastating. For most people, the prognosis is not good and it leads to issues such as tremors, problems with walking and it is one of the leading causes of dementia as well.
At this time, the majority of the treatments available for Parkinson’s disease are medication, such as carbidopa and levodopa. Those medications work similarly to dopamine in the brain, and are a temporary correction for the issue at best. For many people, Parkinson’s disease means many years of taking medication with constant adjustments to see what is going to work best to control the symptoms but they continue to be a problem.
That may no longer be an issue, however, thanks to a procedure known as deep brain stimulation (DBS). Neurostimulators are implanted that activate parts of the brain responsible for movement. In doing so, they may be able to help treat the rigidity, shakiness and tremors that are associated with Parkinson’s disease. This is a procedure that has been shown to be effective in helping individuals who were able to use it.