Surgery for movement disorders

Over past three decades, there has been a resurgence of interest in functional neurosurgery for movement disorders. Recently, thanks to the increased understanding of cellular pathophysiology and advances in technology and surgical techniques, deep brain stimulation (DBS) has essentially replaced ablative procedures for most of these conditions. Success of DBS treatment in the movement disorders depends on the recognized limitations in the medical treatment, our understanding of the anatomy and physiology of these disorders and, particularly, involvement of neurologists, neurosurgeons, clinical neurophysiologists and neuropsychiatrists in outcome studies of DBS surgery. Up to now, the exact mechanism of DBS is not fully understood. This review provides an overview of use of stereotactic neurosurgery, particularly DBS, for movement disorders, focusing mainly on the patient selection, target options, clinical outcome, adverse effects and possible mechamisms of DBS for advanced Parkinson's disease, dystonia, and essential tremor.