Surgical treatment of Parkinson’s disease
Koller WC., Pahwa R., Lyons KE., & Albanese A. (1999) Surgical treatment of Parkinson’s disease , 167(1),1-10
This article explains stereotaxtic surgery (a precise method of identifying non-visualized anatomic structures by use of three-dimensional coordinates) as an effective therapeutic maneuver in the management of advanced Parkinson’s disease (PD). The article reviews the differences between a pallidotomy (a permanent lesion to the globas pallidus – brain structure towards the middle of the brain), thalamotomy (a permanent lesion to the thalamus – brain structure towards the middle of the brain), and deep brain stimulation (DBS; a reversible procedure), which includes deep brain stimulation to the globas pallidus, thalamus, or subthalamic nucleus (all are structures towards the middle of the brain). Furthermore, it highlights the benefits of deep brain stimulation over the other procedures.