Spinal cord stimulation alleviates motor deficits in a primate model of Parkinson disease.

ABSTRACT: Although deep brain electrical stimulation can alleviate the motor symptoms of Parkinson disease (PD), just a small fraction of patients with PD can take advantage of this procedure due to its invasive nature. A significantly less invasive method--epidural spinal cord stimulation (SCS)--has been suggested as an alternative approach for symptomatic treatment of PD. However, the mechanisms underlying motor improvements through SCS are unknown. Here, we show that SCS reproducibly alleviates motor deficits in a primate model of PD. Simultaneous neuronal recordings from multiple structures of the cortico-basal ganglia-thalamic loop in parkinsonian monkeys revealed abnormal highly synchronized neuronal activity within each of these structures and excessive functional coupling among them. SCS dis

SUBMITTER: Santana MB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4428767 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature