A comprehensive knowledge of the white matter anatomy of the mammillothalamic and mammillotegmental tracts is crucial since they have emerged as new DBS targets in the treatment of various disorders including dementia and epilepsy.
Analysis revealed that serum concentrations (calculated from DBS) within the respective reference ranges were attained in only 52.9% of the 68 Nodding syndrome patients treated with valproic acid, in 21.4% of the 56 Ugandan epilepsy patients treated with carbamazepine, and in 65.7% of the 137 onchocerciasis-associated epilepsy patients from the DRC treated with phenobarbital.
Application of a newly developed semiquantitative questionnaire (FST-questionnaire [Fragebogen zur Veränderung der Selbstwahrnehmung unter tiefer Hirnstimulation]: Questionnaire regarding changes in self-perception while treated with DBS) to systematically assess changes in self-perception in a single-center, cross-sectional pilot-study at the University Hospital Freiburg, Germany on 50 patients (44% male; age 50 years [range: 27-73 years]), undergoing neurostimulation (DBS, iVNS, tVNS, or eTNS) to treat Parkinson's disease or epilepsy.
Randomized clinical studies in search of the optimal target in well-defined epilepsy patient populations, will ultimately allow for optimal patient stratification when applying DBS for drug-resistant patients with epilepsy.
Use of the mixed reality tool "VSI Patient Education" for more comprehensible and imaginable patient educations before epilepsy surgery and stereotactic implantation of DBS or stereo-EEG electrodes.
While invasive neuromodulation such as DBS and VNS have proven to be effective in treating movement disorders, OCD and epilepsy, there is increasing interest and data with regards to its potential application for the treatment of severe, intractable addiction.