If you ever had a blood clot or heart problem, you can't have. Stem cell therapy.

Ken Dewhurst and OSusanna, my husband had DBS surgery in 2008. It helped him cut out one of his PD meds completely and gave him time. This time he had gave his a great deal in his narrowing life, to be alive for the birth of his granddaughter and spend time with his family and friends.
There are three leads (wires) on both sides of his brain that snake down his neck to a battery in his chest. Originally, they thought the settings would be made and no adjustments but have since changed that thinking and do make adjustments. When they first turned on his device about two weeks after the surgery to allow the body to heal and to adjust to the changes of having it tested during surgery, I saw my husband's face return to one I recognized, pre-PD. It was a moving experience. But the nurses and doctors kept reminding us that this is not a cure. This is important to remember despite the dramatic change as Ken has referred to in his post.
My husband has had the battery replaced twice when they hit their shelf life. Now, however, the insurance companies want the batteries to hit a certain level before replacement. This is not in the best interest of the patient but the bottom line. As my husband declines, I feel that the insurance companies are playing the odds game that he will die before they have to replace it. He will not be allowed to get it replaced if he is in hospice, which is crazy as the battery is a quality of life issue for him, not a sustaining of life, and fits perfectly into the mission of hospice. So what is the issue? Money and how Medicare pays for parts of hospice. These rules were set up years ago and have not been adjusted to keep pace with changing technology.

Read the story Tex posted on stem cell therapy. He said it gave him back his life. That it is the best decision he's ever made, and just wishes he had done it sooner.

Go to youtube and watch this lecture by Dr. Jeffrey Bronstein of UCLA. He talk of interesting stuff in the pipeline but is not a fan of stem cell. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvwGbgBh2CE&amp... On the other land clinical trial to start next year,
https://www.10news.com/news/local-news/breakthr...

As alway be cautious of quacks.

Laura

Although not a stem cell therapy or even a cure. I have just h ad DBS at the 15 year stage. It, for me is a lifestyle saviour The key benefit is the stability of how you feel and no more ON /OFF fluctuations. Have this route been considered.