Deep brain stimulation may help Tourette's

CLEVELAND, Nov. 13 (UPI) -- Researchers at the University Hospitals Case Medical Center in Cleveland said using deep brain stimulation may help with Tourette's syndrome.

Lead author Dr. Robert Maciunas said this first-of-its-kind study of five adults with Tourette's syndrome determined that deep brain stimulation can reduce tic frequency and severity in some people who have exhausted other medical treatments.

The study tracked five adults with Tourette's syndrome for 12 months after deep brain stimulation.

The study, published in the Journal of Neurosurgery, concluded that the majority of patients experienced a significant reduction in symptoms and an improved quality of life.

Deep brain stimulation, approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for treatment of Parkinson's disease, involves the surgical implantation of electrodes in the brain and pulse generators in the upper chest just beneath the collarbones. The implanted pulse generator is connected to the electrode in the brain by a thin cable that is placed under the skin and programmed to deliver a high-frequency electrical stimulation to the targeted area of the brain.