Movement disorders are neurological conditions that affect the body’s ability to control or initiate movement

Three of the most common movement disorders are:

• Parkinson’s disease (PD) – a chronic condition caused by a deficiency of dopamine-producing cells. Symptoms can vary; however many patients experience trouble moving or walking, involuntary shaking of parts of the body, rigidity, slowness or trouble articulating.
   
• Dystonia – a condition that affects a specific area of the body, or widespread throughout several muscle groups, causes sustained muscle contractions triggering twisting and repetitive movements or unintended postures which can also be painful.
   
• Essential tremor (ET) – an involuntary and rhythmic shaking in various parts of the body that occurs with movement, although manifestation in the hands is most common.¹

Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) is a safe, effective, and well-established surgical treatment which can help manage some movement disorder symptoms. DBS is typically used to treat patients with advanced PD, dystonia, and ET whose symptoms are no longer controlled by medication. To date, over 160,000 patients have already been treated for a variety of illnesses.⁵

DBS can help significantly improve:

• 62% PD motor symptoms and, for some patients, medication may be reduced by up to 58%.⁶
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• 50-60% dystonia symptoms, with some patients experiencing a 90% reduction.⁷

In particular, the VANTAGE study (a prospective, multicentre, non-randomised, open-label intervention study of an implantable DBS device at six specialist DBS centres at universities in six European countries) has shown that use of the multiple-source, constant current, implantable Vercise™ DBS System improved motor function, enriched quality of life, and extended daily on-time in patients with Parkinson’s disease.⁶