The University of Nebraska Medical Center is one of 30 centers to receive original approval to participate in the first, new treatment in 30 years for the disabling tremors associated with Parkinson’s disease. On August 4, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the Activa Tremor Control Therapy, an implantable pacemaker-like device. It delivers a mild, electrical stimulation to block the brain signals that cause essential tremor and tremors associated with the disease.
Parkinson’s disease is a progressive and degenerative neurological disease that affects about 500,000 people in the U.S. Essential tremor is the most common neurological movement disorder and affects at least a million people, age 45 or older. Depending on the individual, tremor worsens from mild to disabling at a variable rate.
Another type of tremor associated with Parkinson’s is disabling, involuntary shaking of the limbs or other parts of the body that severely impacts a patient’s quality of life, as well as their ability to function. The condition makes people unable to do simple tasks like bathing, dressing, eating and drinking. Many people continue to suffer because they assume it is part of the normal aging process and isn’t treatable.
Research on the Activa device shows the therapy is safe and effective and significantly improves a patient’s ability in dressing, drinking, eating, bathing and handwriting. Currently, thousands of people throughout Europe, Canada and Australia have the Activa system implanted to control their tremor.
Traditional therapy for this condition involves medication and surgical procedures known as thalamotomy and pallidotomy, said Angelo Patil, M.D., a UNMC neurosurgeon who is presently the only physician in the state who will be implanting the tremor control device.
“The essential tremors associated with Parkinson’s disease make it extremely difficult to perform day-to-day activities,” Dr. Patil said. “This new technology will improve the quality of life by stopping the tremors and enabling people to do the simplest things such as feed and dress themselves.”
UNMC has a patient who is likely to undergo the first procedure in the near future, Dr. Patil said. The FDA approval makes way for the procedure to be covered for those eligible for Medicare, he said.
The Activa system, developed by Medtronic, Inc., is surgically implanted in the thalamus, the brain’s communication center, and is connected to an extension wire under the skin which is connected to an implanted pulse generator. The generator, implanted near the collarbone, is similar to an advanced cardiac pacemaker.
Patients control the stimulation by passing a hand-held magnet over the implanted pulse generator to turn it on or off, or to increase or decrease stimulation depending on their tremor suppression needs. To achieve maximum tremor suppression, physicians program the generator to deliver the precise stimulation needed for each patient.
For more information about this treatment or to make an appointment, call the UNMC Neurosurgery Department at (402) 559-4301.