UF researchers create a database of outcomes for Tourette syndrome therapy

UF neuroscientists are collaborating on a registry of outcomes to an uncommon treatment used to reduce the amount of tics a person with Tourette syndrome experiences.

The database will allow the public to review how successful the deep brain stimulation therapy worked on patients, which can help researchers find better methods to help personalize treatments, said Aysegul Gunduz, an assistant professor of biomedical engineering and researcher on the project.

The deep brain stimulation procedure acts as a “pacemaker” for the brain by sending electrical pulses to designated areas, Gunduz said. Similar types of therapy have also been used to treat Parkinson’s disease and tremors.

“The overall goal of the registry is you look at all the outcomes of deep brain stimulation therapy across different hospitals, different countries, so that we can all converge on a better therapy altogether,” Gunduz said.

Dr. Michael Okun, a neurologist and an author on the research, said the deep brain stimulation therapy is only used on a small percentage of patients because less invasive types of therapy are available. Because it is used so infrequently, it is impossible to know how to improve the surgery.

He said making this data available can help doctors understand what brain targets will be better for patients with very specific symptoms.

“When you have a procedure that’s potentially helping a lot of people but you don’t have the volume of outcomes data to make decisions, then public registries and databases become really important,” Okun said.