For many years, treatment options for epilepsy and movement disorders, such as Parkinson’s disease, essential tremor and dystonia, have been limited to drug therapies, which often decrease in effectiveness and can cause significant side effects.

The nationally recognized Movement Disorders and Epilepsy Surgery Center at University of Minnesota Medical Center, Fairview, pioneers surgical intervention and novel therapies for these conditions. The center is committed to delivering innovative, high-quality treatment and to conducting translational research to improve existing patient care.

Multidisciplinary Approach
Neurologists, neurosurgeons, neuropsychologists, psychiatrists and rehabilitation specialists, led by Director and University of Minnesota Physicians’ Neurosurgeon Aviva Abosch, M.D., Ph.D., provide a multi-disciplinary approach to treatment administered by a comprehensive, experienced team. The team assesses patients preoperatively to determine their candidacy for surgery, plans the optimal surgical approach and outlines and oversees postoperative care. Specialized nurses assist with the day-to-day management of patients and give care in the outpatient setting. The center staff works closely with patients and their families and caretakers in treatment decisions.

Innovative Treatments
The center’s surgical options for Parkinson’s disease, essential tremor, and dystonia include deep brain stimulation (DBS), and the formation of lesions in specific regions of the brain responsible for generating abnormal movements. These procedures reduce disabling symptoms and allow an adjustment in medications to diminish their side effects. Potential surgical treatments for epilepsy include anterior temporal lobectomy, selective amygdala hippocampectomy, lesionectomy, corpus callosotomy and implantation of a vagal nerve stimulator.

Patients have access to clinical research trials. Abosch is leading a clinical trial that treats dystonia with DBS, which has repeatedly shown to be effective in small series and individual case reports. Another upcoming clinical trial will evaluate implanted stimulators in the brains of Parkinson’s disease patients. The center hopes this trial will assist in developing a smarter medical device that will be able to sense the disease state of a particular patient and individualize treatment based on this information.