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        New Message Board Archives >> Medications, Treatments, Therapies 2003 >> Hypothalamic Electrical Stimulation 
        
(Message started by: HypnoticFreddy on Nov 11^th, 2003, 11:37am)

Title: Hypothalamic Electrical Stimulation
Post by HypnoticFreddy on Nov 11^th, 2003, 11:37am

Hello all,

We need to get the medical device that involves "hypothalamic electrical stimulation"

This is an abstract from an article that appeared in Neurol Sci. Vol. 24 Suppl 2 2003 May PP. S143-5

"Hypothalamic deep brain stimulation for intractable chronic cluster headache: a 3-year follow
up"

Leone, M.; Franzini, A.; Broggi, G.; Bussone, G.

Cluster headache is the most severe among primary headaches. Positron emission tomography and functional MRI studies have demonstrated that the ipsilateral posterior hypothalamus is activated during cluster headache attacks and is structurally asymmetric in these patients thus indicating that cluster headache may originate at that level. These hypothalamic abnormalities in cluster headache led to the suggestion that deep brain stimulation of ipsilateral posterior inferior hypothalamus might produce clinical improvement in otherwise treatment refractory chronic cluster headache patients. In a patient with severe intractable chronic cluster headache, hypothalamic
electrical stimulation produced complete and long-term pain relief with no relevant side effects. So far other operations have been performed and the results are encouraging in terms of both pain relief and safety. The efficacy of hypothalamic electrical stimulation provides some hints into clusterheadache
pathophysiology.

Title: Re: Hypothalamic Electrical Stimulation
Post by 5-string on Nov 11^th, 2003, 10:34pm

..What about licking nine volt batteries?.will that work?
Just kidding(although I do kind of get a pleasure out of it)
Thanks for the post, sounds interesting.
...Mark..

Title: Re: Hypothalamic Electrical Stimulation
Post by lapowers on Nov 11^th, 2003, 10:36pm

I so agree that all CH suffers should have the chance to get the relief this treatment brings. My husband knows first hand the relief it brings. He had a neurostimulator implanted in 1997. He had it done in Munich, Germany because it wasn't FDA approved here. After having it implanted he was PF for 1-1/2 yrs. Prior to it being done he was on so many meds and a morphine pump that administered a constant dose of morphine. After it was implanted he felt relief within the first few days then by the end of the first month he was PF. It was amazing to be PF and drug free. He went back to Munich in 2001 to have it adjusted and had relief again for about 6 mo.
He is know looking for someone in the US who is doing trials so that he can be seen here and be PF everyday. It is to hard and expensive to fly to Germany each time.Trust me though it was worth every dollar. As his doctors here said it will be more affordable there than it ever will be here!!!
Now I just wish the FDA would hurry up and approve it here so all the people out there suffering could find relief. Laurie

Title: Re: Hypothalamic Electrical Stimulation
Post by HypnoticFreddy on Nov 12^th, 2003, 3:25pm

I think if I had a morphine drip, I would never leave my couch.

Implants?! Kinda Frankensteinish, but hey....if it works. Seems lobbying to the FDA might help. Especially if neurologists and other doctors participated.

Yes, perhaps instead of carting around oxygen tanks, we could have some electrical device on a cart instead. Imagine hooking up electrodes to your head at work and explaining to people you are "normal", except you suffer from awful headaches called clusterheadaches. Self-administered labotomy.

-HypnoticFreddy

Title: Magnetic Stimulation Less Risky
Post by floridian on Nov 12^th, 2003, 4:45pm

I can understand how chronics might be considering an implant, and that's their decision. But implanting the wires is risky. What if the same results could be achieved using highly targeted magnetic pulses to stimulate particular areas of the brain?

The Medical University of S. Carolina has used precision magnetics ("transcranial magnetic stimulation") to treat depression. A series of weekly treatments for a few months was successful in stimulating the brain to start working like it used to, with no apparent side effects.

Don't know if weekly or daily sessions to stimulate the hypothalamus would work for CH, or if it has to be constant stimulation of the area like a pacemaker. The current magnetic devices are bulky prototypes and have the drawback that you have to be precisely strapped in to an elaborate device to be able to magnetically stimulate particular areas. But maybe they could be fit into helmets that are custom molded to a person's head.

Other researchers who have "played around" with TMS found they can turn different mental functions on or off at will - some funny stories floating around about asking a person their name while sending magnetic waves to their memory areas. "Umm, I know my name, but, wait, give me a minute, its, its, ..." Religious experiences also reported when certain areas of the brain are stimulated.

Here's a link to a copy of a Scientific American article on transcranial magnetic therapy. http://www.ists.unibe.ch/sciam.pdf

Any electrical/electronic gurus out there??