Desert Regional Medical Center is pleased to announce the opening of its Movement Disorders Center within the Institute of Clinical Orthopedics and Neurosciences. The movement disorders program provides specialized comprehensive care not previously offered anywhere in the Coachella Valley, under the direction of a full-time, Fellowship-trained specialist, M. Georgeta Varga, M.D.
Movement disorders includes conditions such as Parkinson’s Disease, dystonia, essential tremor and other tremor disorders; restless leg syndrome, Tourette’s syndrome and other tic disorders; Huntington’s disease, myoclonus, psychogenic movement disorders and other hyperkinetic movements.
Clinical studies have led to recent advances in treatment of some of these conditions. One particularly effective treatment, deep brain stimulation, or DBS, is now offered at Desert Regional Medical Center. This innovative therapy was FDA approved for treatment of Essential tremor in 1997, of Parkinson Disease in 2002 and Dystonia in 2003 , and provides alternative therapy for patients who are not adequately controlled with medication.
DBS therapy uses a surgically implanted device(s), similar to a cardiac pacemaker, to deliver carefully controlled electrical stimulation to precisely targeted areas in each side of the brain. Continuous stimulation of these areas blocks the brain signals that cause the motor symptoms associated with these and other conditions.
For certain movement disorders, such as dystonia, botulinum toxin and other forms of medical management are also available at the Movement Disorders Center.
For more information on the program, please call 760-416-4566.