Areas of Treatment

Epilepsy

In a long-standing collaboration between Emory and research scientists in the Laboratory for Neuroengineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology, several epilepsy neuromodulation programs are underway in both the clinic and laboratory.

Epilepsy is a neurological condition which causes people to experience recurrent and uncontrollable seizures. Seizures occur when clusters of nerve cells in the brain send out the wrong signals. There are many different types of seizure including strange sensations, emotions or behaviors, violent muscle spasms, convulsions, or loss of consciousness. Anything that disturbs normal nerve cell activity including illness, brain injury, an imbalance of neurotransmitters, and abnormal brain development is a potential cause of epilepsy. However, in most cases, the cause is unknown.

Treatment-Resistant Depression (TRD)

For over 8 years, treatments and mechanisms of TRD has been studied at Emory through the Deep Brain Stimulation Clinical Research Program for Treatment Resistant Depression - the first program of its type in the nation. Emory has emerged as a world leader in the development and testing of deep brain stimulation for TRD, a technique pioneered by Dr. Helen Mayberg.

Depression is one of the more common mental disorders and is ranked by the World Health Organization as a leading cause of disability worldwide. Depression is a chronic, debilitating disease and in extreme cases may contribute to people taking their lives. For some, a depression episode will resolve with anti-depressant medications and psychotherapy treatment. However, many patients do not achieve remission despite trying multiple medications, psychotherapy, and/or electroconvulsive therapy. In fact, studies suggest that 50% of depression patients fail to respond after the first being prescribed their first two anti-depressant treatments from different classes over a 2-3 month period. These patients are believed to have a form of depression known as Treatment Resistant Depression (TRD).

TRD is a more severe and chronic form of depression and patients will suffer a great impairment of their daily activities. Some people with TRD may have a family history of depression, suggesting a possible hereditary component of the disease. They are also at a greater risk of hospitalization for their psychiatric illness and are at increased risk of attempting suicide..

For over 8 years, treatments and mechanisms of TRD has been studied at Emory through the Deep Brain Stimulation Clinical Research Program for Treatment Resistant Depression - the first program of its type in the nation. Emory has emerged as a world leader in the development and testing of deep brain stimulation for TRD, a technique pioneered by Dr. Helen Mayberg. This research program is unique as it is the only such psychiatry DBS program operating independent of industry sponsored trials. Sponsored research is ongoing with new studies designed to refine and optimize surgery, and to examine mechanisms mediating the antidepressant effects of DBS.

Movement Disorders

Emory is a national leader for clinical and laboratory research of movement disorders. In fact, the American Parkinson Disease Association designated Emory University as its first Center of Excellence in 1991. In the last 15 years, work in these disorders has been expanding and lead to the development of new treatments. For instance, Emory University physicians and scientists have been at the heart of the development of surgical therapies.

Movement disorders are a group of neurological conditions that affect the speed, fluency, and ease of movement causing a person to have abnormal voluntary or involuntary movements, or slow movements. More than 30 different diseases, affecting almost 40 million Americans, are characterized as neurological movement disorders. Although many movement disorders are not life threatening, they can significantly impair patients' ability to perform daily activities independently. Depression and other mental problems are often associated with movement disorders.

Common Movement Disorders

• Ataxia is lack of coordination and often produces jerky movements.
• Dystonia is a neurological movement disorder characterized by involuntary muscle contraction leading to abnormal postures and twisting movements.
• Parkinson's disease is a progressive disorder that is caused by degeneration of the nerve cells that produce the neurotransmitter dopamine in the substania nigra -the part of the brain which controls movement.
• Tics are involuntary muscle contractions.
• Tourette's syndrome is hereditary disorder whose symptoms include motor or vocal tics and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
• Dyskinesia is abnormal uncontrolled movement and is a common symptom of many movement disorders. Tremors are a type of dyskinesia.
• Essential Tremor is an uncontrolled shaking or trembling, usually of one or both hands or arms that worsens when basic movements are attempted.
• Huntington's disease is a hereditary progressive neurological disorder whose symptoms include: involuntary movements, gait abnormalities with falling and dementia.