[Deep brain stimulation: new frontier in the treatment of CNS disorders].

INTRODUCTION

The author reviews the present indications of deep brain stimulation, its progress and outcomes, its targets and techniques, the main neurosurgeons and medical centers involved.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

This review is based on the experience of the Functional Neurosurgery group of the Hospital Santa Maria (Centro Hospitalar de Lisboa Norte) since 1995 and on the bibliography published since 1980 indexed on PubMed.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The deep brain stimulation applications in the different functional neurosciences fields are presented and discussed: Movement disorders, including Parkinson's disease, dystonia and tremor, Gilles de la Tourette, chronic pain, epilepsy and psychosurgery with its different aims: Obsessive-compulsive disorder, severe resistant depression, resistant aggressiveness with disruptive behavior, eating behavior disorders (anorexia nervosa, morbid obesity) and drug addiction (alcohol, opioids, cocaine).

CONCLUSIONS

In most of these clinical situations, deep brain stimulation is a safe and useful therapeutic resource that must be considered whenever the usual therapies are useless or not enough; in the other cases a greater experience is needed to make it a regular indication.