New evidence on revolutionary brain pacemaker for Parkinson's Diseas...( Less than 7% of all Parkinson Disease ...)

New evidence on revolutionary brain pacemaker for Parkinson's Disease patients

Less than 7% of all Parkinson Disease (PD) patients across Europe that could benefit from deep brain stimulation have benefited from the Activa Parkinsons Control Therapy, despite it being the most significant advance in the treatment of Parkinsons in more than 30 years.

The European Parkinsons Disease Association (EPDA) announced today new evidence on the current uptake of deep brain stimulation for Parkinsons disease patients and despite its success there are still large numbers of patients waiting or denied access to the therapy.

Deep brain stimulation uses Medtronics Activa Parkinsons Control Therapy which is a pioneering treatment for patients with Parkinsons disease. It was launched by Medtronic with the support of the EPDA to great acclaim in Europe four years ago in 1998, however considerably low numbers of patients with Parkinsons disease have received the treatment since that period.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has estimated that there are four million people with Parkinsons disease worldwide1. Currently Parkinsons disease is ranked as the fourth most frequent disorder of the nervous system, after epilepsy, cerebrovascular disease and Alzheimers2. It has been estimated that across Europe, approximately 20% of all PD patients could benefit from deep brain stimulation3.

However, it was revealed today that approximately 7%* of patients suitable for surgical treatment across Europe have received deep brain stimulation in the key G5 European countries (France, Italy, Germany, Spain and UK) since it was launched four years ago. Switzerland is leading the way with the UK bottom of the G5 countries in terms of accessibility to deep brain stimulation for appropriate patients. The estimated percentage of new suitable PD patients per year receiving deep brain stimulation therapy in Europe is as follows: 29.4% of patients in Switzerland, 9.8% in France, 9.3% in the Netherlands, 8.4% in Spain, 5.3% in Italy, 5.2% in Ger
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Contact: Amanda Boswell
amanda.boswell@ketchum.com
44-207-611-3571
Ketchum
25-Mar-2002

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