Accessibility Statement Skip Navigation
  • Why PRWeb
  • How It Works
  • Who Uses It
  • Pricing
  • Login
  • GDPR
  • Create a Free Account
Return to PRWeb homepage
  • News
  • Resources
  • Contact
When typing in this field, a list of search results will appear and be automatically updated as you type.

Searching for your content...

No results found. Please change your search terms and try again.
  • News in Focus
      • Browse News Releases

      • All News Releases
      • Multimedia Gallery

      • All Multimedia
      • All Photos
      • All Videos
  • Business & Money
      • Auto & Transportation

      • Aerospace, Defense
      • Air Freight
      • Airlines & Aviation
      • Automotive
      • Maritime & Shipbuilding
      • Railroads and Intermodal Transportation
      • Supply Chain/Logistics
      • Transportation, Trucking & Railroad
      • Travel
      • Trucking and Road Transportation
      • View All Auto & Transportation

      • Business Technology

      • Blockchain
      • Broadcast Tech
      • Computer & Electronics
      • Computer Hardware
      • Computer Software
      • Data Analytics
      • Electronic Commerce
      • Electronic Components
      • Electronic Design Automation
      • Financial Technology
      • High Tech Security
      • Internet Technology
      • Nanotechnology
      • Networks
      • Peripherals
      • Semiconductors
      • View All Business Technology

      • Entertain­ment & Media

      • Advertising
      • Art
      • Books
      • Entertainment
      • Film and Motion Picture
      • Magazines
      • Music
      • Publishing & Information Services
      • Radio & Podcast
      • Television
      • View All Entertain­ment & Media

      • Financial Services & Investing

      • Accounting News & Issues
      • Acquisitions, Mergers and Takeovers
      • Banking & Financial Services
      • Bankruptcy
      • Bond & Stock Ratings
      • Conference Call Announcements
      • Contracts
      • Cryptocurrency
      • Dividends
      • Earnings
      • Earnings Forecasts & Projections
      • Financing Agreements
      • Insurance
      • Investments Opinions
      • Joint Ventures
      • Mutual Funds
      • Private Placement
      • Real Estate
      • Restructuring & Recapitalization
      • Sales Reports
      • Shareholder Activism
      • Shareholder Meetings
      • Stock Offering
      • Stock Split
      • Venture Capital
      • View All Financial Services & Investing

      • General Business

      • Awards
      • Commercial Real Estate
      • Corporate Expansion
      • Earnings
      • Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG)
      • Human Resource & Workforce Management
      • Licensing
      • New Products & Services
      • Obituaries
      • Outsourcing Businesses
      • Overseas Real Estate (non-US)
      • Personnel Announcements
      • Real Estate Transactions
      • Residential Real Estate
      • Small Business Services
      • Socially Responsible Investing
      • Surveys, Polls and Research
      • Trade Show News
      • View All General Business

  • Science & Tech
      • Consumer Technology

      • Artificial Intelligence
      • Blockchain
      • Cloud Computing/Internet of Things
      • Computer Electronics
      • Computer Hardware
      • Computer Software
      • Consumer Electronics
      • Cryptocurrency
      • Data Analytics
      • Electronic Commerce
      • Electronic Gaming
      • Financial Technology
      • Mobile Entertainment
      • Multimedia & Internet
      • Peripherals
      • Social Media
      • STEM (Science, Tech, Engineering, Math)
      • Supply Chain/Logistics
      • Wireless Communications
      • View All Consumer Technology

      • Energy & Natural Resources

      • Alternative Energies
      • Chemical
      • Electrical Utilities
      • Gas
      • General Manufacturing
      • Mining
      • Mining & Metals
      • Oil & Energy
      • Oil and Gas Discoveries
      • Utilities
      • Water Utilities
      • View All Energy & Natural Resources

      • Environ­ment

      • Conservation & Recycling
      • Environmental Issues
      • Environmental Policy
      • Environmental Products & Services
      • Green Technology
      • Natural Disasters
      • View All Environ­ment

      • Heavy Industry & Manufacturing

      • Aerospace & Defense
      • Agriculture
      • Chemical
      • Construction & Building
      • General Manufacturing
      • HVAC (Heating, Ventilation and Air-Conditioning)
      • Machinery
      • Machine Tools, Metalworking and Metallurgy
      • Mining
      • Mining & Metals
      • Paper, Forest Products & Containers
      • Precious Metals
      • Textiles
      • Tobacco
      • View All Heavy Industry & Manufacturing

      • Telecomm­unications

      • Carriers and Services
      • Mobile Entertainment
      • Networks
      • Peripherals
      • Telecommunications Equipment
      • Telecommunications Industry
      • VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol)
      • Wireless Communications
      • View All Telecomm­unications

  • Lifestyle & Health
      • Consumer Products & Retail

      • Animals & Pets
      • Beers, Wines and Spirits
      • Beverages
      • Bridal Services
      • Cannabis
      • Cosmetics and Personal Care
      • Fashion
      • Food & Beverages
      • Furniture and Furnishings
      • Home Improvement
      • Household, Consumer & Cosmetics
      • Household Products
      • Jewelry
      • Non-Alcoholic Beverages
      • Office Products
      • Organic Food
      • Product Recalls
      • Restaurants
      • Retail
      • Supermarkets
      • Toys
      • View All Consumer Products & Retail

      • Entertain­ment & Media

      • Advertising
      • Art
      • Books
      • Entertainment
      • Film and Motion Picture
      • Magazines
      • Music
      • Publishing & Information Services
      • Radio & Podcast
      • Television
      • View All Entertain­ment & Media

      • Health

      • Biometrics
      • Biotechnology
      • Clinical Trials & Medical Discoveries
      • Dentistry
      • FDA Approval
      • Fitness/Wellness
      • Health Care & Hospitals
      • Health Insurance
      • Infection Control
      • International Medical Approval
      • Medical Equipment
      • Medical Pharmaceuticals
      • Mental Health
      • Pharmaceuticals
      • Supplementary Medicine
      • View All Health

      • Sports

      • General Sports
      • Outdoors, Camping & Hiking
      • Sporting Events
      • Sports Equipment & Accessories
      • View All Sports

      • Travel

      • Amusement Parks and Tourist Attractions
      • Gambling & Casinos
      • Hotels and Resorts
      • Leisure & Tourism
      • Outdoors, Camping & Hiking
      • Passenger Aviation
      • Travel Industry
      • View All Travel

  • Policy & Public Interest
      • Policy & Public Interest

      • Advocacy Group Opinion
      • Animal Welfare
      • Congressional & Presidential Campaigns
      • Corporate Social Responsibility
      • Domestic Policy
      • Economic News, Trends, Analysis
      • Education
      • Environmental
      • European Government
      • FDA Approval
      • Federal and State Legislation
      • Federal Executive Branch & Agency
      • Foreign Policy & International Affairs
      • Homeland Security
      • Labor & Union
      • Legal Issues
      • Natural Disasters
      • Not For Profit
      • Patent Law
      • Public Safety
      • Trade Policy
      • U.S. State Policy
      • View All Policy & Public Interest

  • People & Culture
      • People & Culture

      • Aboriginal, First Nations & Native American
      • African American
      • Asian American
      • Children
      • Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
      • Hispanic
      • Lesbian, Gay & Bisexual
      • Men's Interest
      • People with Disabilities
      • Religion
      • Senior Citizens
      • Veterans
      • Women
      • View All People & Culture

  • Hamburger menu
  • Cision PRWeb provides efficient communication tools to continuously engage with target audiences across multiple online channels
  • Create a Free Account
    • ALL CONTACT INFO
    • Contact Us


      11AM ET Sunday – 8PM ET Friday

  • Send a Release
  • Sign up
  • Log in
  • Resources
  • RSS
  • GDPR
  • News in Focus
    • Browse All News
    • Multimedia Gallery
  • Business & Money
    • Auto & Transportation
    • Business Technology
    • Entertain­ment & Media
    • Financial Services & Investing
    • General Business
  • Science & Tech
    • Consumer Technology
    • Energy & Natural Resources
    • Environ­ment
    • Heavy Industry & Manufacturing
    • Telecomm­unications
  • Lifestyle & Health
    • Consumer Products & Retail
    • Entertain­ment & Media
    • Health
    • Sports
    • Travel
  • Policy & Public Interest
  • People & Culture
    • People & Culture
  • Send a Release
  • Sign up
  • Log in
  • Resources
  • RSS
  • GDPR
  • Send a Release
  • Sign up
  • Log in
  • Resources
  • RSS
  • GDPR
  • Send a Release
  • Sign up
  • Log in
  • Resources
  • RSS
  • GDPR

UT Health San Antonio neurologists among first to treat patients with deep brain stimulation that adapts to patients' symptoms


News provided by

The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio

Apr 09, 2025, 17:58 ET

Share this article

Share toX

Share this article

Share toX

Neurologists at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UT Health San Antonio) are among the first to use groundbreaking technology for patients with movement disorders that enables deep brain stimulation that adapts as symptoms change.

SAN ANTONIO, April 9, 2025 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- In groundbreaking news for patients with movement disorders, neurologists with The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio are among the nation's first to use technology that enables deep brain stimulation that adapts as symptoms change.

Deep brain stimulation, known as DBS, is the placement of electrodes in the brain connected to a battery-operated generator in the chest similar to a cardiac pacemaker, first approved in 1998. A small impulse of electricity moves from the generator to the electrodes to stimulate a specific area of the brain, relieving some symptoms and side effects for those with Parkinson's disease, dystonia, epilepsy and essential tremor conditions.

Until now, those electrical impulses needed to be manually adjusted with doctor visits, for persons with implanted sensing DBS generators. The new adaptive DBS technology essentially is a software update that sets the generator battery to continually adjust stimulation based on the patient's symptoms, using a tablet like an iPad that connects through Bluetooth.

"What the new technology now does is you turn it on and adjust the stimulation based on the patient's symptoms, so it senses the symptoms and delivers the appropriate stimulation. So, treatment is not one size fits all; it's very individualized," said Okeanis Vaou, MD, associate professor and chief of the movement disorders division in the Department of Neurology, Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long School of Medicine, at UT Health San Antonio.

Vaou also is affiliated with the school's Glenn Biggs Institute for Alzheimer's and Neurodegenerative Diseases and University Health, and sees patients with neurodegenerative and sleep disorders. She and her team were chosen by the technology's manufacturer as one of the first locations nationally, and the only one in Texas, to launch the product for patient care. The product received federal Food and Drug Administration approval on Feb. 24.

Vaou and her team – Pablo Coss, MD, Leila Saadatpour, MD, and Sarah Horn, MD, all clinical assistant professors of neurology at UT Health San Antonio – switched on the adaptive DBS technology with the first patient on March 25, and followed with another six patients that same week. It all happens during a regular patient visit, taking anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour. Vaou has high hopes for the first patient outcomes.

"The studies have shown that it does offer therapy and symptom optimization and improves patient quality of life," she said. "Imagine people with Parkinson's when they have a tremor. The stimulation therapy automatically adjusts, and it increases. When they don't (have a tremor), it goes down, and so forth. So, it follows the symptoms and delivers the appropriate treatment at each step of the way."

Alexander Papanastassiou, MD, associate professor of neurosurgery in the Long School of Medicine, typically implants the sensing DBS devices at University Hospital for patients. Following the implantation, the patients come in periodically for Vaou and her team to download information from the generator, and then adjust the stimulation level manually. Now, that adjustment becomes automatic.

"The device had sensing (capability), so it basically just sensed the brain signals and we then took the information and made the best informed decision in programming, but it never adjusted itself," Vaou said. "The change now is that it automatically adapts to the patients' symptoms.

"This is a unique technology to this device," she said.

Vaou and her team were chosen for their vast experience with DBS, and because they stay at the forefront of new technology. Last year, they also was one of the first to take part in implanting a newly approved sensing rechargeable DBS device with a 15-year battery life allowing more continual treatment of patients with movement disorders.

That technology was a significant improvement over previous non-rechargeable devices that required replacement every three to four years.

The movement disorders division at UT Health San Antonio is designated a Parkinson's Foundation Comprehensive Care Center, the first of its kind in Texas, recognizing operations providing excellent care to people with Parkinson's disease within a broad geographic region.

To learn more about the movement disorders program available at UT Health San Antonio or to schedule an appointment, please call 210-450-0500.

The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UT Health San Antonio), a primary driver of San Antonio's $44.1 billion health care and biosciences sector, is the largest academic research institution in South Texas with an annual research portfolio of more than $436 million. Driving substantial economic impact with its six professional schools, a diverse workforce of more than 9,400, an annual expense budget of $1.67 billion and clinical practices that provide 2.5 million patient visits each year, UT Health San Antonio plans continued growth over the next five years and anticipates adding more than 1,500 higher-wage jobs to serve San Antonio, Bexar County and the South Texas region. To learn about the many ways "We make lives better®," visit UTHealthSA.org.

Stay connected with The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and YouTube.

The UT Health San Antonio Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long School of Medicine is listed among U.S. News & World Report's best medical schools, ranking in the top 30% nationwide for research. To learn more, visit https://uthscsa.edu/medicine/.

The Glenn Biggs Institute for Alzheimer's and Neurodegenerative Diseases is dedicated to providing comprehensive dementia care while advancing treatment through clinical trials and research. The Biggs Institute is a National Institute on Aging (NIA)-designated Alzheimer's Disease Research Center (ADRC). In addition to patient care and research, the Biggs Institute partners with the School of Nursing at UT Health Science Center San Antonio to offer the Caring for the Caregiver program.

Media Contact

Steven Lee, The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, 2104503823, [email protected], https://news.uthscsa.edu/

SOURCE The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio

Modal title

Contact PRWeb

  • 11AM ET Sunday – 8PM ET Friday
  • Contact Us

About PRWeb

  • About PRWeb
  • Partners
  • Partnership Programs
  • Editorial Guidelines
  • Resources

Why PRWeb

  • Why PRWeb
  • How It Works
  • Who Uses It
  • Pricing

Accounts

  • Create a Free Account
  • Log in
  • Contact Us

Do not sell or share my personal information:

  • Submit via [email protected] 
  • Call Privacy toll-free: 877-297-8921

Contact Cision

Products

About

My Services
  • All News Releases
  • Online Member Center
  • ProfNet
Cision Distribution Helpline
888-776-0942
  • Legal
  • Site Map
  • RSS
  • Cookie Settings
Copyright © 2025 Cision US Inc.