In Parkinson's disease patients, this treatment can also lessen other symptoms of the disease including muscle stiffness and slowness of movement. Surgeons implant electrodes in the brain and a pulse generator in the chest, and connect these two devices with a wire under the skin. The patient turns the stimulator on or off by passing a hand-held magnet over the chest. Another high-technology treatment, pallidotomy, can offer relief to Parkinson's patients from symptoms such as tremor, stiffness, slowness of movement and abnormal movements called dyskinesia. In pallidotomy, a small area deep in the brain is destroyed.
Patients receive local anesthesia and a mild sedative and are awake during the operation.
There are minimal side effects and risks if the patients are properly selected. Good candidates must meet a variety of criteria and be in reasonably good health, says Dr. Wolter. Neither pallidotomy nor electrical brain stimulation is a cure-all for essential tremor and Parkinson's disease.