Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
For those with Parkinson's disease, but do not respond
to medication, a new device may offer some help.
It's known as DBS, or deep vein stimulation.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta now with
a story of man who not only had the procedure,
but went out of his way to document it, too.
Sanjay, great story here, good morning.
Thanks Bill.
This is a story of Ray Farkas.
He's 67 years old, a television producer, a
man on the move and then Parkinson's disease started
to slow him down.
Well, he decided to fight back and using cameras
and lights showed us how he did it.
Sure, he's an award winning television producer, but
this was unlike anything he'd ever done before.
I never thought about it as brain surgery.
I thought about it as where we're going to put the
cameras, and this is going to be a production, this
ain't brain surgery.
But, in fact, it was brain surgery.
And not only would Ray be producing; he would
have the starring role as Ray Farkas,
67-year-old with Parkinson's disease.
All the simple things in life became very difficult.
Ah, walking, walking was especially; it slowed me
down something fierce.
Deep within Ray's brain, as in others with
Parkinson's, cells that normally produce a chemical
called dopamine, had died off.
That led to his movements becoming slow and unsteady.
He started to lose ground.
The simple things in life suddenly became difficult.
It was like you were in jail, ah.
And you knew you couldn't get out.
Then Ray learned of a procedure called Deep Brain
Stimulation, electrodes attached to a sort of
pacemaker would be lowered into his brain.
We think the stimulator itself helps to jam the
abnormal nerve firing that's occurring in Parkinson's
disease, or somehow interfering with that
hyperactive firing pattern.
Throughout the procedure, Ray would stay awake.
December, November, October, September, August, Julyů.
We inner plant the electrodes when the
patient's awake in the operating room.
The reason that we do that is that often times, when
we turn the electrodes on, the results are almost
immediate.
And while awake, Ray would be able to see his
production come together.
There are two cameras in front of me; there's one
to the side of me; there's one over my head; there's
one wandering around the room; there are five
cameras.
Finally, the climax. (Singing).
The doctor would come out and say, "Look, you're
legs not shaking", and I'd say, "My God, you're
right", and then.