Sixteen Years of the Long March Against Parkinson's Disease: Finding the Right Method and Regaining Hope

Ms. Zou, from Shaoyang, Hunan, has had Parkinson's disease for 16 years. While not fatal, Parkinson's can rob a person of their dignity.

In her youth, Ms. Zou was highly capable and nimble, managing her family with impeccable care. However, after developing Parkinson's, she suddenly became a family-dependent individual. For a few years, medication managed her symptoms, but the medication's effectiveness diminished. Her muscles in her hands and feet remained stiff and trembling, restricting her movement and daily activities. She needed to be fed, often salivating uncontrollably, and even turning over in bed was difficult.

Ms. Zou's husband, now elderly and without her children, was increasingly unable to care for her. She could only sleep lightly each night, waking at the slightest sign of trouble. This made Ms. Zou, who always hated to cause trouble for others, feel like she was living a life worse than death.

For 16 years, Ms. Zou had been constantly consulting experts at major hospitals across the country about Parkinson's disease treatments. Even professors and specialists at prestigious hospitals offered no suggestion that surgery could cure her disease, and instead advised her to take Western medications like Madopar and Senforol. Over the past decade, Ms. Zou had spent considerable sums, but her condition only worsened. She was no longer able to walk and had been bedridden for over a decade.

One day, her family saw on television that Hunan Brain Hospital was performing DBS surgery, a minimally invasive, effective treatment for Parkinson's disease that doesn't cause irreversible damage. With the intention of giving it a try, they took Ms. Zou to the Hunan Brain Hospital.

Ms. Zou sought out Huang Hongxing, Director of the Department of Neurosurgery at Hunan Brain Hospital. Huang conducted a preoperative evaluation for her Parkinson's disease and, to their relief, found multiple indicators that indicated she was suitable for surgery. After extensive case discussions, Huang and his team decided to perform a brain pacemaker implant on her.

Through the introduction of Huang Hongxing, Director of Neurosurgery at Hunan Brain Hospital, Ms. Zou learned about the "Jingyu New Generation Wireless Remote Brain Pacemaker." She also learned that it was the only product on the market that supports differential frequency stimulation of left and right brain electrodes. This allows for completely different frequencies, voltages, and pulse widths for each side, depending on the severity of symptoms on the left and right sides and the midline. This solves the problem of being unable to treat both limb and midline symptoms simultaneously, improving treatment effectiveness and significantly reducing side effects.

After discussing with her family, Ms. Zou and her family made the decision to undergo brain pacemaker surgery to end her 16 years of suffering.

On the day of the surgery, Ms. Zou's family was apprehensive. The entire family was extremely nervous and concerned about the success of the surgery. For hours after entering the operating room, Ms. Zou's family waited anxiously, not even eating, staring intently at the operating room door, hoping for Ms. Zou's release.

Fortunately, the surgery was a success.

In the two or three months following the surgery, Ms. Zou, through adjustments to stimulation parameters and medication, was able to function normally, though not as robustly as before the illness. Her hands and feet no longer trembled, she no longer needed to be fed, and she could finally sleep soundly. After 16 years without shopping alone, she could now go grocery shopping, take walks, exercise, and see her caring neighbors, relatives, and friends. Her family and friends were delighted for her.

Ms. Zou's symptoms are now under excellent control. With the Jingyu remote DBS programmable system, she regularly schedules appointments with Dr. Huang Hongxing for symptom management and parameter adjustments. The family no longer has to travel back and forth to the hospital for follow-up appointments or parameter adjustments.

Life is finally back on track.