An Examination of Mobile Spinal Cord Stimulators on Treating Parkinson Disease

Zhen-Jie Wang; Takao Yasuhara

doi:10.4103/bc.bc_6_21

An Examination of Mobile Spinal Cord Stimulators on Treating Parkinson Disease

Brain Circ. 2021 Mar 30;7(1):8-12. doi: 10.4103/bc.bc_6_21. eCollection 2021 Jan-Mar.

Authors

Zhen-Jie Wang¹, Takao Yasuhara²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Neurosurgery and Brain Repair, Morsani College of Medicine, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA.
² Department of Neurological Surgery, Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama University, Okayama, Japan.

Abstract

In animal models of Parkinson disease (PD), spinal cord stimulation (SCS) exhibits neuroprotective effects. Recent advancements in SCS technology, most importantly mobile stimulators, allow for the conventional limitations of SCS such as limited stimulation time and restricted animal movements to be bypassed, offering potential avenues for improved clinical translation to PD patients. Small devices that could deliver continuous SCS to freely moving parkinsonian rats were shown to significantly improve behavior, preserve neurons and fibers in the substantia Nigra/striatum, reduce microglia infiltration, and increase laminin-positive area of the cerebral cortex. Through possible anti-inflammatory and angiogenic mechanisms, it has been demonstrated that there are behavioral and histological benefits to continuous SCS in a time-dependent manner. This review will discuss the benefits of this technology as well as focus on the limitations of current animal models.

Keywords: 6 hydroxydopamine; Parkinson disease; electrical stimulation; neuroinflammation; neuroprotection.

Publication types

Review