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Published on: August 12, 2018
A single thalamic target for deep brain stimulation to treat hemi-body pain syndrome
A Rezaei Haddad1, I Ughratdar, K Ashkan
1Department of Neurosurgery, Kings College Hospital, Denmark Hill, London, SE5 9RS, UK, ali.rhaddad@me.com.
Background:
Patients experiencing hemi-body pain represent a difficult problem when using the thalamus as a DBS target given its anatomical topology.
Methods:
A 50-year-old HIV positive male underwent a right unilateral thalamic DBS to treat his severe left hemi-body central post-stroke pain following years of unsuccessful medication therapy.
Results:
The final active contact of the electrode corresponded to stimulation of the nucleus ventrocaudalis parvocellularis internis, which has provided prolonged pain relief.
Conclusion:
To our knowledge this was the first time this pattern of pain was treated by a single thalamic DBS electrode, suggesting stimulation in this region may be a feasible target for achieving relief from chronic severe hemi-body pain.
