Long-term follow-up of chronic spinal cord stimulation for medically intractable orthostatic tremor

A place to post any new research papers that you find on OT

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Long-term follow-up of chronic spinal cord stimulation for medically intractable orthostatic tremor

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A new study has been published on the use of Spinal Cord Stimulation (SCS) and OT.

Long-term follow-up of chronic spinal cord stimulation for medically intractable orthostatic tremor

“Medical treatment frequently is unsatisfactory, thus in selected cases, surgical treatment, such as spinal cord stimulation (SCS) or thalamic deep brain stimulation has been proposed. We report the long-term results (follow-up (FU) 34–133 months) of SCS in four patients with medically intractable OT. Outcome was assessed by recording the time tolerated to stand still ….

The mean standing time improved from 51 s (SD 47 s, range 4–120 s) pre-operatively to 220 s (SD 184 s, range 10–480 s) with SCS at last available FU. Tremor activity in the EMG of the anterior tibial muscle was reduced by 30–60 % with SCS compared with off SCS. PSR score was 4 or 5 in three patients and 3 in the other. In conclusion, SCS is an effective long-term treatment option in patients with otherwise intractable OT.”

SCS is a less invasive alternative to DBS, and even though the results reported were limited to a small sample of patients, the outcome was similar to the results reported from DBS.

Long-term follow-up of chronic spinal cord stimulation for medically intractable orthostatic tremor
Christian Blahak, Tamara Sauer, Hansjoerg Baezner, Marc E. Wolf, Assel Saryyeva, Christoph Schrader, Hans-Holger Capelle, Michael G. Hennerici, Joachim K. Krauss

Blahak, C., Sauer, T., Baezner, H. et al. J Neurol (2016). doi:10.1007/s00415-016-8239-4
LINK TO ARTICLE ABSTRACT

The new report above is a followup to a study from 2006 which can be found here - Link to 2006 study

click on "Post Reply" below to discuss this report
francis
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Joined: Sat Jul 02, 2016 12:49 am

Re: Long-term follow-up of chronic spinal cord stimulation for medically intractable orthostatic tremor

Post by francis »

DEAR SIRS,
WHERE CAN I GET ANY HELP IN ENGLAND?

I START TO TREMOR WITH IN A FEW SECONDS OF STANDING.
YOURS TRULY BRIAN ANDREWARTHA.
admin
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Re: Long-term follow-up of chronic spinal cord stimulation for medically intractable orthostatic tremor

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Hi Brian

Welcome to the OT forum. I would be good to post your question about specialists in England in the main forum for new introductions.

LINK TO NEW INTRODUCTIONS DISCUSSION

After you click on the link above, click on "Post Reply" and hopefully other members that live in England can further assist you with ideas of whom to see.

best regards,
annettarn
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Location: Ohio

Re: Long-term follow-up of chronic spinal cord stimulation for medically intractable orthostatic tremor

Post by annettarn »

I had spinal cord stimulation trial implanted for one week, it was very successful. Allowing me to go from 20 secs standing still to 5 mins, that is 15 times longer than before, and once I moved a dew steps, I had another 5 mins. Big improvement in my life. Permanent implant was scheduled to be following month. But was denied by Medicare. There is no code for the device to used for tremors, only intractable pain. The doctors are fighting this with little progress. We need a larger group in the US to have this done,and outcome published. Medicare must be aware of diagnosis, so this can be coded correctly and paid for.
Lake of the Woods
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Location: Kenora, Ontario, Canada

Re: Long-term follow-up of chronic spinal cord stimulation for medically intractable orthostatic tremor

Post by Lake of the Woods »

Hello Annetta,
Thank you for posting this information. Everyone should know about this also. Annetta has been in touch with me and she will be presenting this information at the Omaha research meeting this September and everyone attending can hear her story and ask questions.

Peggy
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Re: Long-term follow-up of chronic spinal cord stimulation for medically intractable orthostatic tremor

Post by admin »

This is an interesting article about a researcher that has created a device to help a friend with Parkinsons. It reminded me of the small successes that have reported recently about the use of spinal cord stimulation and OT.

“It’s like injecting white noise into that feedback loop in order to disrupt it,” Zhang says.
The pattern of the vibration is also important. For Lawton, a rhythmic vibration is effective. (A specially designed app in Emma’s Windows 10 tablet controls vibration speed.) For other people, a more random rhythm may work better, Zhang says. However it works, she knows she’s onto something. Lawton does, too.

“It’s a huge opportunity to potentially change some lives,” Lawton says.


Read more at https://blogs.microsoft.com/transform/f ... SIHgm4S.99
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Re: Long-term follow-up of chronic spinal cord stimulation for medically intractable orthostatic tremor

Post by admin »

Another recent article on SCS research and OT - http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1 ... 12485/full
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Re: Long-term follow-up of chronic spinal cord stimulation for medically intractable orthostatic tremor

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A new research paper that describes the possible reason why SCS helped with Parkinson's disease:

“Based on recent evidence, we argue that neurological disorders such as PD can be broadly classified as diseases emerging from abnormal neuronal timing, leading to pathological brain states, and that the spinal cord could be used as a “channel” to transmit therapeutic electrical signals to disrupt these abnormalities.”

Electrical stimulation of the dorsal columns of the spinal cord for Parkinson's disease
Amol P. Yadav PhD, Miguel A. L. Nicolelis MD, PhD


Link to article: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1 ... 27033/full
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