Movement disorders are a group of neurological conditions that affect the speed, fluency, quality, and ease of voluntary movement. The most common movement disorders treated neurosurgically are Parkinson’s disease, essential tremor, and dystonia. These conditions arise from dysfunction in the brain circuits that coordinate movement.
While medication is the first line treatment for most movement disorders, some patients experience diminishing effectiveness, fluctuating responses, or intolerable side effects over time. For these patients, deep brain stimulation (DBS) offers a surgical option that can significantly improve quality of life.
Common Movement Disorders
The movement disorders most commonly referred for neurosurgical evaluation share the feature of involuntary or impaired movement that significantly interferes with daily activities.
- Parkinson’s disease causes tremor, rigidity, slowness of movement, and balance difficulty
- Essential tremor produces rhythmic shaking, most often in the hands, that worsens with purposeful movement
- Dystonia causes sustained or intermittent muscle contractions resulting in abnormal postures or repetitive movements
- Parkinson’s symptoms typically respond to levodopa medication but may fluctuate as the disease progresses
- Essential tremor is the most common movement disorder, affecting an estimated 7 million Americans
- All three conditions can be severe enough to interfere with eating, writing, dressing, and other daily tasks
When Surgery Becomes an Option
Neurosurgical evaluation is appropriate when movement disorder symptoms significantly impair quality of life despite optimized medication management. Deep brain stimulation (DBS), offered by Dr. Waldron, involves implanting thin electrodes in specific brain targets to deliver controlled electrical impulses that modulate the circuits responsible for abnormal movement. DBS can provide substantial improvement in tremor, rigidity, and medication related fluctuations.