BILATERAL CHRONIC ELECTROSTIMULATION OF VENTROPOSTEROLATERAL PALLIDUM- A NEW THERAPEUTIC APPROACH FOR ALLEVIATING ALL PARKINSONIAN SYMPTOMS

THE GLOBAL IMPROVEMENT of all parkinsonian symptoms after stereotactic pallidotomy has been demonstrated by Leksell. Recently, Laitinen, ree valuating this target in the neurosurgical treatment of Parkinson's di sease, confirmed the real value of this approach, and emphasized the n ecessity of locating the lesion in the ventroposterolateral part of th e pallidum internum. Because we know that high-frequency stimulation o f the ventrolateral part of the thalamus has the same clinical effect on tremor as high-frequency coagulation, this technique has now been a pplied bilaterally in one session in three patients who have severe Pa rkinson's disease, with akinesia and levodopa-induced dyskinesias in t he foreground. The very satisfactory clinical results, up to 12 months in the first case, confirm the observation of Laitinen, but with the difference that the approach discussed here is both nondestructive and reversible, and unwanted side effects are avoided.