Deep Brain Stimulation webinar to provide insight into benefits for Parkinson’s patients

World-leading specialists in Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS), Professor Peter Silburn and Associate Professor Terry Coyne, will share the latest developments in DBS surgery for Parkinson’s patients during an interactive webinar event this Saturday 6 September.

The webinar is part of a Parkinson’s Innovation Forum to be held at The University of Queensland Centre for Clinical Research, Herston, presented by the Asia-Pacific Centre for Neuromodulation and Shake It Up Australia Foundation.

DBS involves surgically implanting electrodes in a deep part of the brain. This brain “pacemaker” sends electrical impulses to a targeted area on each side of the brain to block the signals that cause the disabling motor symptoms in conditions such as Parkinson’s disease, dystonia and essential tremor.

Neurologist Professor Silburn and neurosurgeon Associate Professor Coyne have together performed more than 700 DBS surgeries at St Andrew’s War Memorial Hospital, Brisbane, and they are considered among the top DBS specialist teams in the world.

“We are very pleased to be able to share the latest research and our experience of DBS with the medical community as well as the wider community at this forum which is both a face-to-face seminar and an online webinar,” Professor Silburn said.

Shake It Up Australia Foundation CEO Ben Young said the webinar would provide an opportunity for people interested in DBS surgery for Parkinson’s disease to engage in an evidence-based online discussion on DBS.

“For the first time in Australia, anyone who is interested in learning more about DBS will have the opportunity to access comprehensive information about the surgery and its potential benefits for people living with Parkinson’s disease, from the comfort of their own home,” Mr Young said.

Shake It Up Australia Foundation is a not-for-profit organisation established in 2011 to promote and fund Parkinson’s disease research in Australia. The foundation was established by Clyde Campbell, a father of three and business owner who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2009 at the age of 44. Mr Campbell established Shake It Up to provide an Australian partner to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research (MJFF) in the US.

The Asia-Pacific Centre for Neuromodulation is a joint initiative of UnitingCare Health’s St Andrew’s War Memorial Hospital and The University of Queensland.

The DBS surgery for Parkinson’s webinar can be accessed at https://shakeitup.org.au/webinar-understanding-deep-brain-stimulation-dbs/