Until the discovery of levodopa in the 1960s, surgery was one of the few treatments available to treat people with Parkinson’s disease. Once levodopa became an established therapy, the use of surgery was largely discontinued, except to help people who had drug-resistant symptoms.
Nowadays, medication is the main treatment for Parkinson’s disease. Various types are available – see the section on Medication. These offer effective symptom control for many people, but are not perfect treatments, especially for people who are in the more advanced stages of Parkinson’s. For this reason, and because there have been many advances in surgical techniques, neuroimaging and computer technology that make surgery more viable, in recent years there has been a revival of interest in surgery.
Surgery is mainly used to treat people with advanced Parkinson’s who are finding that medication does not offer the same level of symptom relief as it used to do and those who have drug-resistant symptoms. Surgery does have some risks and some people will not be suitable for this type of treatment, particularly anyone with psychiatric problems, dementia, cerebrovascular disease, uncontrolled high blood pressure or who is 75 years or more.
Although some surgical techniques have provided good symptom control in some people, it is important to remember surgery is not a cure and it does not slow down the progression of Parkinson’s. Most people continue to take Parkinson’s medication after surgery although sometimes the dose they take can be reduced.
What types of surgery are of interest to researchers?
There are several surgical techniques currently being researched. These include:
This section has been adapted from the chapter on surgery contained in Living with Parkinson’s disease by Bridget McCall. Published by Sheldon Press (London, UK) 2006.
