How will future generations view DBS for Parkinson’s disease?
Medical knowledge and treatments tend to change dramatically over time
Sometimes I think about the odd medical practices that were used hundreds of years ago to treat illnesses and how those strategies compare with today’s practices.
In the 19th century, milk transfusions were considered to be an adequate replacement for blood transfusions. (While some patients survived the procedure, most died.) Chloroform, now known to cause respiratory depression, was used to treat asthma. Then, not that long ago, mental health conditions were treated with procedures like lobotomies. And the list goes on.
It’s easy to look back at these methods with wide eyes and dropped jaws, but the scientists at the time had no reason to doubt the validity of their experiments. Why wouldn’t milk in the blood improve someone’s health? After all, it was the very thing that helped babies turn into grown-ups.
As my mind swirls with historical mishaps, I wonder which contemporary practices will glean similar responses from future generations. Will deep brain stimulation (DBS) be perceived as a strange, unfortunate glitch of the past? Today, many people with Parkinson’s disease view the procedure as a miracle.
My dad even underwent DBS surgery in 2019, and tiny electrodes were placed in his head to hopefully disrupt his dyskinesia. And it worked! In fact, according medical device maker Medtronic, 85%-89% of people with Parkinson’s experience “clinically meaningful and significant improvement” with their DBS device.
A quick search of public forums about Parkinson’s disease brings up all kinds of different results, ranging from mystery hardware that promises to revolutionize disease treatment to herbs and spices that promise to control tremors. Maybe some of those discussion topics will become the horrors of yesterday. Maybe not.
The good news is that it’s relatively easy to pick myself out of these thought spirals about the past. Sure, contemporarily, medical professionals are probably making some mistakes. But the reality is that scientists have made major advances in treating conditions like Parkinson’s over the past century. And while most accounts suggest that we’re transitioning from the “Age of Information” to the “Age of Intelligence,” I’m hopeful that we’ll continue to make progress in medicine.
I’d really prefer a cure for my dad as opposed to a treatment, but sometimes I have to remind myself that it wasn’t even 70 years ago that levodopa started improving patients’ lives in the first place. Maybe I should just be grateful that medical professionals aren’t using cocaine to treat hay fever anymore. Because, sheesh — that’s just silly.
Note: Parkinson’s News Today is strictly a news and information website about the disease. It does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. This content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or another qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website. The opinions expressed in this column are not those of Parkinson’s News Today or its parent company, Bionews, and are intended to spark discussion about issues pertaining to Parkinson’s disease.
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