Jill Garrett Healthwatch 16 Reporter

Parkinson's Disease is a disorder of the
central nervous system. It affects about one-million American's.
A Lycoming County woman took part in a
study on a deep brain stimulator to
give her a more normal life. We went
to Philadelphia as she visited with her doctor.
Temple University Medical Center was one of 18 centers worldwide doing research on Medtronic's deep brain stimulator for Parkinson's.
Kathy Webster of Hughesville is an elementary school teacher and mother of two. She was diagnosed with Parkinson's 10-years ago.
Tremors associated with the disease forced her from the classroom. Kathy Webster, "I'd keep knocking things over, hitting kids in the head, things that normally you could not do. So I had to ask if I could leave the classroom which really
hurt."
This 43-year old woman went to Temple when she learned about something comparable to a pacemaker that could stop her tremors. It's called a deep brain stimulator. Kathy's had device for a year.
We joined her for the 1-year checkup.
First she fills out a survey that her doctor reviews.
Then Dr. Jack Jallo begins an agility test with her stimulator on. She walks down a hall, no problem.
Now onto the next test, she pats her right hand face down, then palm up on her leg. Dr. Jallo wants to see how many times she can do this in one minute, with no medication and her stimulator on.
Dr. Jack Jallo, Neurosurgeon, "Kathy's no longer able to tolerate her medication very well, and her symptoms are progressing. So with this stimulation, we're able to come back, cut back on her medication and give her very significant relief."
Then Dr. Jallo uses a magnet to turn-off her stimulator.
We see the differnce in seconds. Her hands and legs tremor uncontrollably.
Kathy Webster, "I call them personal earthquakes, if you have tremors and you're trying to sleep with your hands behind your head, of course it's going up and down. There's no way you can sleep like that."
Now Dr. Jallo turns on the Activa stimulator with a magnet to bring the tremors under control again, "It works best in people who are healthy otherwise, whose Parkinson's disease is not so advanced."
But he adds, the stimulator is not the first line of treatment.
Kathy says all her research on Parkinson's paid off, "Oh my gosh, it was like life and death. It was truly a life saver for me because it eliminated the anxiety, the embarassment.""
The Parkinson's stimulator Kathy Webster uses was approved by a Food and Drug Administration advisory committee, awaiting full FDA approval.

More Information

Temple University Hospital

Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Disease