(Halifax, NS) — Capital Health patients are the first in Canada to benefit from the next generation of deep brain stimulation technology. Dr. Ivar Mendez, head of the division of neurosurgery, and his team have begun implanting an innovative new neurostimulator in patients receiving the treatment at the Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre in Halifax.

Deep brain stimulation is a way of treating disabling motor symptoms like stiffness, tremors and slow movement caused by neurodegenerative disorders, using mild electrical pulses delivered to specific areas of the brain. Neurosurgeons at the QEII have been performing deep brain stimulation for about 10 years. But until now, patients required surgery as often as every eight months to replace the batteries for those neurostimulators. The variety of electrical pulses delivered in order to block the brain signals that cause sypmtoms was limited.

New Activa neurosimulators developed by Medtronic can be recharged through the skin, allowing up to nine years between battery replacements, and are programmable by patients, within a range set by the physician, enabling them to choose different levels of stimulation to suit their various activities.

"These advances give patients more control over their symptoms, especially those who require a high level of stimulation to manage disabling motor problems," said Dr. Mendez. "The new technology also allows us to provide patients longer lasting relief."

Deep brain stimulation can assist patients with conditions like Parkinson's disease, essential tremor and primary dystonia that cause involuntary movements.

Capital Health comprises: the Capital District Mental Health Program; Centre for Clinical Research; Cobequid Community Health Centre; Community Health; Dartmouth General Hospital; Addiction Prevention and Treatment Services; East Coast Forensic Hospital; Hants Community Hospital; Eastern Shore Memorial Hospital; Musquodoboit Valley Memorial Hospital; The Nova Scotia Hospital; Musquodoboit Valley Memorial Hospital; Public Health Services; Twin Oaks Memorial Hospital; Nova Scotia Environmental Health Centre; and the QEII Health Sciences Centre.

The Capital Health District also encompasses seven volunteer Community Health Boards that advise Capital Health through the development of community health plans and encourage public participation in health planning. For more information, visit the Capital Health website: www.cdha.nshealth.ca.
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The Brain Repair Centre (BRC) is a multidisciplinary collaboration linking more than 100 world-class researchers and physicians specializing in groundbreaking treatments and technologies in the field of brain repair. They range from surgeons who replace tissue in the human brain to recover lost capability, to scientists in the field of imaging, stem cell neurobiology, pharmacology, psychiatry, ophthalmology, neurology, psychology, kinesiology and cognitive neuroscience.