Deep brain stimulation helps relieve cervical dystonia
Tuesday February 27, 2007
Deep brain stimulation involves putting the tip of a hair-thin wire down inside the brain in a special area that controls movement. The wire connects to a device, called a neurostimulator, that sends tiny electrical impulses down the wire into the brain. Researchers at the Toronto Western Hospital studied 10 individuals with cervical dystonia (involuntary muscle spasms in the neck, also called torticollis) who had not found relief with other medical treatments. The individuals began receiving deep brain stimulation, and after 6 months reported more than 50 percent relief of symptoms, including pain. The research was published in the February 6, 2007, issue of Neurology.
Comments
i have suffered with cervical dystonia for nearly 2 years and ahve been undergoing treatment by the way of botox injections every 3 months which have not helped my codition at all i prey for any help possible my neck is consatntly turned to the left and i suffer constant pain i live on pain killers and valium just to get me through the day and i am 43 years old with a husband and 2 teenage daughters who look after my every need please if there is anything you can do or advise me to to do it may change my life again
I have so much overwhelming pain that has completely taken over my life. I’ve recently been diagnosed with cervical dystonia w/ cervio genic headaches. The word headache just seems too mild – a headache is something you get when you don’t eat often enough. I’d like a doctor/researcher to go tell a woman in the final stages of labor that the pain she is experiencing is only a “stomach ache”.