ABSTRACT
General dystonia is a movement disorder characterized by tonic, involuntary contractions of one or several muscle groups (Fig. 1). On the basis of results obtained with bilateral pallidotomy for treating the most severe forms of primary generalized dystonia (PGD) and the well-established efficiency of deep brain stimulation in Parkinson disease (1-5), we treated 60 eight patients with severely disabling generalized dystonia with bilateral, chronic electrical stimulation of the globus pallidus internus. We are reporting on the long-term efficacy and safety of this new, reversible, and adaptable therapy. This treatment consists of a current drain delivery (electrical neuromodulation) to a deep located brain structure called internal globus pallidus. This stimulation is applied after neurosurgical stereotactical implantation of electrodes secondarily connected to subcutaneously implanted pulse generators. The parameters for stimulation are selected using a radio-frequency method ology enabling the physician to adapt the current drain characteristics to the clinical evolution of movement disorders.
