About Medtronic Deep Brain Stimulation Therapy

You don't have to settle for a life controlled by essential tremor. If medication isn't giving you relief, there is hope. Medtronic DBS Therapy may help you achieve more daily victories and feel more in control.

What is Medtronic DBS Therapy?

Medtronic DBS Therapy is an FDA-approved treatment that has been proven to reduce the tremors associated with essential tremor.¹ More than 80,000 people worldwide have received Medtronic DBS Therapy for movement disorders over the past 20 years.

DBS Therapy uses an implanted medical device, similar to a pacemaker, to send mild electrical signals to an area in the brain that controls movement. These signals block some of the brain messages that cause disabling motor symptoms. As a result, you may experience greater control over your body movements, making it easier for you to perform everyday tasks.

How Long Has Deep Brain Stimulation Been Around?

Medtronic developed deep brain stimulation technology in the 1980s alongside leading physician researchers. In 1987, professors Alim-Louis Benabid and Pierre Pollak of the University of Grenoble in France published the results of the first application of DBS for the treatment of movement disorders.

Medtronic DBS Therapy for Essential Tremor Control was approved in Canada, Europe and Australia in 1995 and in the United States in 1997.

What Are the Benefits of Medtronic DBS Therapy?

Essential tremor is not a life-threatening disease, but it can be a life-altering condition. People with essential tremor often lose the ability to perform simple tasks like driving or going to work. Coping with the resulting feelings of isolation can be difficult.

For many people with ET and their caregivers, Medtronic DBS Therapy offers a second chance at an active life. Here are some of the reasons why:

Effective

Medtronic DBS Therapy has been shown to provide:¹

• Significant improvement in activities of daily living
• Significant reduction in tremor
• Improvement in disability (as reported by individuals receiving DBS Therapy)

Adjustable

Medtronic DBS Therapy stimulation settings can be adjusted in response to your ET symptoms.

Reversible

Medtronic DBS Therapy can be turned off or removed. Removal would require additional surgery.

Medtronic DBS Therapy helps control symptoms, but it's not a cure. Your symptoms will return when the system is turned off.

What Are the Potential Side Effects and Risks?

DBS Therapy requires brain surgery. Risks of brain surgery may include serious complications such as coma, bleeding inside the brain, seizures and infection. Some of these may be fatal. Once implanted, the system may become infected, parts may wear through your skin, and the lead or lead/extension connector may move. Medtronic DBS Therapy could stop suddenly because of mechanical or electrical problems. Any of these situations may require additional surgery or cause your symptoms to return.

Medtronic DBS Therapy may cause worsening of some motor symptoms associated with your movement disorder, and may cause speech and language impairments. Stimulation parameters may be adjusted to minimize side effects and attain maximum symptom control. In patients receiving Medtronic DBS Therapy, depression, suicidal thoughts and suicide have been reported.

Talk to your doctor about the risks that may be applicable to your specific situation.

Next: How It Works

References

1. Medtronic DBS Therapy for Parkinson's Disease and Essential Tremor Clinical Summary, 2009.