A new treatment being trialled in Bristol for people suffering from Parkinson's disease has enabled a man to do the things he loves again, such as playing golf. A clinical trial involving people with Parkinson’s is currently taking place at North Bristol NHS Trust to assess a new version of a Deep Brain Stimulation system.
DBS is used in Parkinson’s to improve tremor and other movement symptoms, which medication can't sufficiently control. A new "Picostim" DBS battery is about one third of the size of conventional devices, meaning it is able to be implanted directly into the skull, rather than within a pocket under the skin of the chest.
The trial’s first patient Tony received his device in November 2020, and said: “I was first diagnosed with Parkinson’s nine years ago when I noticed a slight tremor in my right hand. The most difficult thing to accept is the decline in daily activities like tying-up shoelaces, taking three or four minutes instead of seconds.
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“When I heard about Deep Brain Stimulation, it was a way of doing something to help me to be able to do these things, a way of fighting back. I heard about this miniaturised DBS trial and thought, if I was going to have DBS anyway, then to have the Picostim positioned in my head rather than in a position where it could be seen made sense.
"It also saved three hours surgery time, so potentially helping other Parkinson’s sufferers have DBS treatment made sense. I was pleased to be accepted on the trial.
"The surgery was quick and to my amazement, when I woke-up I had no pain. I was operated on a Wednesday and went home on Thursday afternoon, I felt tired but, I still had no pain.
“The impact has been amazing, the dystonia which is a side effect from the medication has gone. I can now walk two miles or more, whereas before DBS, I could get about 200 yards then I would have to rest.
"I am back playing golf, not as well as I used to, but that’s probably down to old age catching up; but at least I’m back playing. To say I am happy about having DBS is an understatement, it’s a great way to give somebody their life back.”
DBS improves symptoms by delivering electrical impulses down wires extending into the brain, overriding abnormal brain-cell firing patterns arising in Parkinson’s. Being able to place the battery in the skull makes it cosmetically invisible and eliminates the need for extension leads running from the chest, and tunnelling of these wires under the skin of the neck.
It is hoped that by using this new system, the procedure to implant a DBS device will be shortened and simplified, while it may also reduce the need for patients to require revision surgery. In the trial, up to 25 patients will be implanted with the new system and will be followed-up over a one-year period.
North Bristol NHS Trust, which runs Southmead and Cossham hospitals, say that if the trial is successful it will be possible to treat Parkinson’s patients more easily. Dr Alan Whone, a consultant neurologist at the trust who is leading the trial said: “We are delighted with how this first case went in the operating theatre and with how the patient’s symptoms have been improved over the last year.
"We are hopeful that if these findings hold-up, we will have a significant technical advance by which to improve Parkinson’s care across the world”.
