General questions about Activa Therapy:

Q-1: What is Activa Therapy?

A: Activa Therapy from Medtronic is a significant advance in the treatment of movement disorders.  It is used worldwide in appropriate patients to treat some of the symptoms of Essential Tremor, Parkinson's disease, and primary dystonia. The treatment uses one or two surgically implanted medical devices, similar to cardiac pacemakers, to deliver electrical stimulation to precisely targeted areas on each side of the brain. Stimulation of these areas appears to block the signals that cause the disabling motor symptoms of the disease. As a result, many patients achieve greater control over their body movements.

Q-2: How does the therapy work?

A: Activa Therapy delivers electrical stimulation to structures in the brain that control movement and muscle function. A lead with tiny electrodes is surgically implanted in the brain and connected, by means of an extension that lies under the skin, to a neurostimulator implanted under the skin near the collarbone or, in the case of younger primary dystonia patients, in the abdominal area. The electrical stimulation can be noninvasively adjusted to meet each patient's needs.

Q-3: Will Activa Therapy help my Parkinson’s Disease?

A: Candidates for Activa Parkinson’s Control Therapy include people with advanced, levodopa-responsive Parkinson's disease, those with movement-related symptoms that cannot be controlled by drugs alone, and those who experience intolerable side effects from drugs.

"Levodopa-responsive" means the primary symptoms of Parkinson's disease respond to the drug levodopa. A positive response is a response that confirms a diagnosis of Parkinson's disease, rather than a condition with similar symptoms. "Advanced" means that the disease has progressed to a stage with motor fluctuations that inconsistently responds to levodopa. It's at this stage that the disease causes serious disability.

A person's age or pre-existing condition does not necessarily exclude him or her from becoming a candidate for Activa Parkinson’s Control Therapy (in the clinical trial, the ages of patients receiving Activa Therapy ranged from 32 to 75); however, a doctor takes all patient factors into consideration before determining whether Activa Therapy is appropriate.

Q-4: Will Activa Therapy help my Essential Tremor?

A: Candidates for Activa Tremor Control Therapy include people for whom medication has proven unsatisfactory. Again, a person's age or pre-existing condition does not necessarily exclude him or her from being a candidate. The ages of patients receiving Activa Tremor Control Therapy in the clinical trial ranged from 31 to 80. A doctor takes all factors into consideration before determining whether Activa Therapy is appropriate.

The safety and effectiveness of Activa Tremor Control Therapy has not been established for patients with neurological disease origins other than Essential Tremor, or patients who have undergone previous thalamotomy or surgical ablation procedures.

Q-5: Will Activa Dystonia Therapy help my Dystonia?

A: A: No formal clinical trials have been conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of Activa Therapy in treating dystonia. The advantages of the therapy for managing medically resistant primary dystonia over other treatment options are its reversibility and adjustability according to patient needs.

Q-6: Does Activa Therapy cure my movement disorder?

A: There are no cures for Parkinson's disease, Essential Tremor or primary dystonia at this time. Activa Therapy can treat some of the symptoms of these movement disorders and improve function, but does not cure the underlying conditions. If the therapy is discontinued, the patient's symptoms will return.

Q-7: How many people have used this therapy?

A: Since 1996, more than 30,000 people worldwide have used Activa Therapy to manage their movement-related symptoms of Parkinson’s disease and essential tremor.

Q-8: Where would I go to have the surgery?

A: For more information about Activa Therapy, patients are encouraged to contact their physician to discuss whether this therapy may help them. Patients and family members can also use the Activa Therapy Physician Finder.

Q-9: Is Activa Therapy new? What is its history?

A:Neurologists and neurosurgeons have used electrical stimulation since the 1960s as a way to locate and distinguish specific sites in the brain. In the process, they discovered that stimulation of certain brain structures suppresses the symptoms of neurological disorders such as Essential Tremor and Parkinson's disease. Medtronic developed brain stimulation technology in the 1980s in conjunction with leading physician researchers. In 1987, professors Alim-Louis Benabid and Pierre Pollak of the University of Grenoble in France published the results of the first application of deep brain stimulation for the treatment of movement disorders. Since then, Activa Therapy has become commercially available for patients with Essential Tremor and Parkinson’s disease. Activa Therapy is also available, through a Humanitarian Device Exemption, for primary dystonia.

Q-10: How much does Activa Therapy cost?

A: The overall cost of the system varies from country to country, based on how long a patient is hospitalized and different healthcare delivery systems.

The cost of Activa Therapy to patients varies by benefit plan. The approximate cost of the implant procedure, including the devices, hospital stay and physician fees, is $50,000-$60,000 per bilateral procedure. This estimate will vary depending on length of stay.

©Medtronic, Inc. 2008                                                   • Contact Medtronic • Privacy Statement • Terms of Use • Site Map