The effects of DBS on the motor symptoms of Parkinson's Disease

Andrew was diagnosed with Early Onset Parkinson's Disease in 2009 when he was 35 years old. In November 2012 and February 2013 he underwent a surgical procedure, Deep Brain Stimulation surgery, to help control his motor symptoms. This has been hugely beneficial to his quality of life. This is his experience of how DBS has helped him and in the usual manner, results may vary.

[@thejimmytea]

"Can shake some pretty quality cocktails with the right..." I'm sorry for your condition Andrew and I can never imagine what it's like to have Parkinson's but I do love that you kept your humour about you as you showed this to us. Thank you.

[@carroeriksson38]

Jimmy Tang The royal wave was the one that got me. A great video!

[@theodoretrilby916]

I am so happy science has made it possible for this man to live a normal life. ~Theodore Trilby

[@CharlesDarwinning]

Nah, I'm sure if he had just prayed, he would've gotten better for free.

[@carzyman5]

***** It was sarcasm. You need to relax m8.

[@CharlesDarwinning]

***** Are you new to the internet? The level of sarcasm was so high it practically punches you in the face.

[@joslinnick]

Wow! Are you a professional quote maker?

[@TimSManuel]

***** dictionary.reference.com/browse/sarcasm

[@joeltorres5672]

I cannot believe the reddit trolls are actually trolling this video. This man was brave enough to put himself out there and give the world a glimpse of what it's like to live with a heartbreaking disease and give other sufferers a glimmer of hope that they can continue to have a high quality of life with it. I'm not easily offended by any means but this is a new low, even for trolls. FFS have some decency and give this man the proper respect he deserves...

[@brandonmoritz188]

It happens on any video that makes it to the front page, there's no stopping them unfortunately.

[@MrMotoflou]

If you use Chrome, you can download an extension called "Hide Fedora." It gets rid of all of them, and if you stumble upon a user that hasn't been blocked yet, you simply click "Report and Ban," the app adds them to the list, and you never see their comments again. :D

[@GaviLazan]

***** But what if they are just regular redditors (like me) who also happen to comment on youtube videos? Like, how does it know if the user is a troll or not? (This is a serious question, I'm actually interested in knowing)

[@GaviLazan]

Joel Torres It's an unfortunate side-effect, though the boost in views and shares will cause it to go more viral and get to word out, so there is a positive side to it. I was actually surprised to see some of the trolls provide some positive feedback. It was weird, but still positive.

[@owennewburn]

Joel Torres use the "hide fedora" chrome extension. The more its ignored the better.

[@alisonterry8195]

My dad gets this on Tuesday. This video gives me hope.

[@Raisonbran648]

+Alison Terry It's been a month, how did it go?

[@GassedGasMask7]

+Alison Terry How's your Dad?

[@M855A1]

+Alison Terry R u OK???

[@awake5196]

pls reply

[@Anzariel]

Today I had a really bad day. Videos like this are instant pick me ups.

[@jugodu]

This is exactly why I love Biomedical engineering. This is amazing!!! Thanks for sharing.

[@jakeacer121]

Damn, he's got a sense of humour, at least!

[@alexfinnerty6323]

This honestly brought tears to my eyes. I wish my grandfather could have lived to see the benefit of this technology

[@Boats_Of_Seamen]

It amazes me that DBS doesn't just alleviate the symptoms, but neutralizes them entirely. Science is truly amazing. My grandmother's sister, who took great care of me during childhood, died from the results of Parkinson's many years ago. I wish this would have been a viable option then.

[@ssap3717]

This surgery is not rosy as it sounds. My father had it. He couldn't even swallow water after surgery. Lost his walking ability mostly and caught an infection during battery replacement. Entire DBS had to be removed to cure the infection. They decided it was too risky to put it back. Now he cant talk or walk and bed ridden for the rest of his life thanks to DBS. He flew to the surgery on his own. Even doctors dont understand how this works. They will blame it on decease progression if something goes wrong. He felt like robot during the time he had DBS. At least he feels human now. Dont make your life more complicated during the last stages of your life with this these gadgets.

[@James-gd7tk]

"Could shake some quality cocktails with the left" great sense of humor about your really debilitating condition. Glad to see the DBS has worked for you my man! Enjoy life! :)

[@Moodlejoodle]

I just wanted to tell you that this video was really helpful for me. I'm currently studying biopsychology, and as I was reading about Parkinson's Disease and DBS, I suddenly remembered once seeing this video, and I just found it again. I'm so happy that you have been able to receive help and benefit from this surgery. It must have been such an emotional experience for you, and thank you so much for sharing this. Thank you for making my education "visual", and I hope you're in good health.

[@PrettyBoyTTV]

"I think party times over" LOL I legitimately laughed at that part

[@hayleyf23]

My dad was just diagnosed with Parkinson's. This brought tears to my eyes, but so thankful to see that there is still hope.

[@masugana1]

My grandma died of Parkison's disease when I was 15. I wish this had been an option for her back then. So glad you can benefit from this wonderful science now. Stay well brother. R.

[@LOVER_LINK]

BERTA WE NEED YOUR OPINION.

[@itswinning_2760]

CALL IN THE BEAST!

[@JoeyMendez89]

it has been summoned.

[@jesushernandezchrist8595]

for the love of dad don't encourage them

[@SnoopDogeRedditEdge]

We need to get the opinion of the voluptuous berta lovejoy on the subject at hand.

[@jsssonic]

Snoop Doge Nice pic/name, you've won the internet for the day!

[@TommyFilth1]

You're extraordinarily brave for enduring this just to show people what the disease is like.

[@Hwarming]

Wow, that's amazing how immediate it is. I just wish my grandfather was still around to benefit from stuff like this. He had Parkinson's for years, and you could tell that it really annoyed him.

[@LRMaylott]

"Can shake some quality cocktails with the right hand... the left.... just looks like the royal wave" At least you can find some humor in such a ridiculous illness. Ridiculous because of what it does to the body.

[@AtomicFire41]

I legitimately felt relief when you turned it back on at the end. I have a friend who is in a relatively similar boat, but thankfully, not to the same extent

[@Beebut3]

My father in law suffers from parkinsons & Essential Tremors. He had DBS Surgery in July. (Deep brain stimulation) We recently had to turn his batteries off just to allow his brain to kinda adapt to the 4 leads, yes 4 leads and two batteries one on each side of his chest. Luckily he is doing okay. It's only for two weeks. When we cut them back on it's amazing how the body just Stops these symptoms. We are grateful people like you go public with this disease. We have somewhere to actually see what to expect. Thank you.

[@AndrewJohnsonNZ]

Thanks for reaching out, I am humbled that this video has helped your family.

[@MicheleDiTrani]

Wow, this is fantastic. I remember when my grandmother was diagnosed Parkinson's Disease. She was just like you with the stimulator turned off, even when she was on drugs.

[@hoodedknave3104]

That's really scary, I had no idea such a device could help someone with Parkinson's.

[@debiva]

Andrew, Thank you for sharing and having the courage to do so. I have a friend about to undergo the surgery. I am so hopeful for him now.

[@EKopecky]

Its things like this that amaze me about the world we live in today. Humans have come a long way.

[@EKopecky]

hayderimran7 well, its hard to beat that.

[@galept]

Yes, with statements like that who needs any any other motivation?

[@xokocodo]

Thank you for showing us the symptoms and providing us this understanding. I can't imagine what you have gone through.

[@OtakuSanel]

why does that thing even have an off switch?????

[@maximtsai1856]

For safe removal if replacements are needed I assume.

[@--Justin--]

Maxim Tsai I'm guessing it could also interfere with some medical scans - ultrasound/ECG/x-rays/etc. Not to mention that it might have to be disabled quickly in case of malfunction.... A workmate from a previous job has one of these things and has made a big change in his quality of life, though unfortunately for him he isn't quite as high functioning as Andrew here.

[@mikev7132]

Batteries need replacing too!

[@Srcsqwrn]

Got Integrity? That's unfortunate. Can he still live a relatively normal life? :c

[@vaiciciaku]

For evaluation when medical checks are being done.

[@Liz.1014]

You are incredibly brave to put this video up! i'm glad it's starting to get more attention cause I think it brings some important message out there !

[@michaelmichnowicz4123]

Thank you for posting this. I can only imagine how hard it was to make the video, but it shows how important progress is in science.

[@notoriousrjg]

This is amazing. Thank you for your courage to share this with the world!

[@TheTwitterpatedlove]

Wow, Teared up a little. So glad they have this so you and others who this works for can have a life beyond, that which you showed.

[@josephlesh2786]

watched this because a teacher posted it in my class at medical school. Thank you for posting this video, it was very helpful, and I pray and hope you have continued success in your treatment.

[@Xadhoom]

Absolutely incredible. I was unaware of just how severe the effects of Parkinson's can be, and was quite shocked to see what happened when you turned the device off. The fact that we can produce a device like this gives me a bit of much-needed hope for humanity. All my best to you. And thank you for showing this video.

[@Allison.J.Nelson]

I'm glad that this tech is available. My dad was diagnosed in January and its already fast progressing. Luckily my local university is working with this tech and accepting patients now. We have a referral coming soon.

[@beanbomb47]

This is just remarkable. Thanks for demonstrating!

[@joehurley6521]

Thank you for sharing this! It's really amazing; to see the incredible discomfort this horrible disease must cause, but also how much of a dramatic and instantaneous affect the DBS surgery has.

[@annakendricks2512]

What a champ for having the guts to do this demonstration and do it so well. Good on ya, mate.

[@xpaulbhdx]

I love your sense of humour. Royal wave and cocktails lol.

[@jordanh.8529]

Modern medicine is so amazing

[@potkor]

wait till you see voldecrons medicine (in 317years)

[@dandixon6809]

Amazing. I had no idea this was out there. Good for you, Andrew. Keep on keeping on man. Thank you for posting this video letting the word spread about this option for people suffering from Parkinson's.

[@pangsarbajs]

I'm speechless! This is just amazing, so happy for you! I wish everyone with Parkinson's disease could get this surgery.

[@zackarybruce6915]

I had a girlfriend a year or so ago who has Dystonia, untreatable by medication, she got the DBS system and it pretty much saved her life, I remember going with her to comfort her when she had to get new batteries put in, when they turned off the system for the surgery you could see her lose control of almost an entire half of her body... it was terrifying. but with this system, its allowed her to be an amazing artist and a fantastic musician

[@alisharivera9754]

Cool

[@MattEvans529]

FUCK YEAH, SCIENCE!!!

[@Volthan]

Thank you for the great presentation, while luckily no one in my family has parkinson until this day, it is great to see how a DBS seems to help you with your daily life. Videos like this are very important, not just for the "sick", but as well the general public, as one can quickly understand while strolling through the comment section. Best of luck to you and your family!

[@notreallynullno]

Thanks for taking the time to share this. Fascinating, and a stark look at the real intensity of Parkinson's.

[@goderichtaylor7686]

I was born with Destonia Was in a wheel chair until 2012 my Dad read a magazine called that's life Went to see one of the doctors my didn't know why we were there And my dad talked about a Magazine on deep Brian stimulation Doctor said he Specializes in it had the operation in October 15th they gave me Electric shock in my brain the Second Operation was in November 2012 they put the battery in my chest I was working straight away

[@ericbrickley]

Hello sir. astounding video. I am curious, when you reactivated the device and you sighed deeply. I know you said it was uncomfortable, however I am incredibly interested in how it feels. Is it describable? Where is the sensation localized when re-energizing the device. Thanks for sharing !!

[@lillytanna9738]

You are so brave to make this video, thank you so much for making this video and posting it on yt

[@dadohead]

Thanks, dude. That was vitally important for people to see.

[@DanielBaldwin0]

Could shake some quality cocktails with the right!

[@KMEthridge]

That's scary. I thought you wouldn't be able to get it back on.

[@Miserybahamut]

This makes me tear up. Thank goodness you have something to give you relief. Thank you so much for sharing your experiences.

[@creamsoder]

This is really quite remarkable and I think it's great you've posted this so people can see the real benefits of DBS. Thank you!

[@JoshuaRobertMoser]

I fucking love science.

[@SefMfMcWeavis]

+Joshua Moser without it the world would be a dark scary religious nightmare lol....it still kinda is sadly

[@gabrieldlee]

2:25 "Shake some quality cocktails with the right" I love this man

[@chrisroecker]

Thanks for taking the time to share this information with everyone; much appreciated :)

[@xXDJPlushXx]

You are very brave for displaying this for everyone to see. We've gone so far in medical science. I'm so proud of humankind right now.

[@DeniseInChains]

how amazing is this!!

[@Gendo.]

"shake some quality cocktails"

[@philturner1242]

My kid brother (aged 51) is, at last, having this operation, sometime early next year. What a great Christmas present to be told, "yes, you are suitable for this procedure"

[@hotd34me1991]

My friend that is truly amazing. I can't believe the strides in science we've made in the past 200 years. It's absolutely astonishing to see how that type of machinery works. I couldn't imagine how happy you must be to have something to lessen the effects of your condition, seriously, congratulations man.

[@squamish4244]

DBS is very real and very powerful, just watch the TED talk of neurosurgeon Andres Lozano. Within the decade, we will very likely see non-invasive stimulation, where the application of electrodes to the outside of the head will target brain structures without the need for surgery, via either electrical or ultrasonic means. The next step after that will be finding ways to regenerate brain tissue or permanently rewire circuitry (there is evidence that both are possible), which will remove the need for constant stimulation altogether.

[@BlitzsieLDiscoLSnow]

About this, please don't give people false hope. Testing any of the things you mentioned is very, very difficult to actually get permission to test it on humans. We are nowhere near any kind of technique that can stimulate the regions necessary for specific networks to be altered by just placing an electrode on the skull. Ultrasonic is very much doubted in the neuroscientific community, as we have no evidence that it does anything at all in the brain. As for the regeneration of brain tissue, there are some preliminary studies going on using cells from the axolotl, because that animal seems to be able to regenerate about everything, including it's brain, as long as there is half of a brain left to regenerate it from. We are nowhere near testing this in any other kind of animal, or even halfway through understanding the mechanisms by which the axolotl does that. The circuitry we have in the brain is plastic by itself. You change your connections every second by doing the things you do, especially when you're learning new skills. This does not mean that we are on the level of understanding on how those circuits are formed, how they are damaged in certain disorders, and we wouldn't even know where to start on how to apply anything of this in neurological therapies. So about the "evidence" that both are possible, yes, there are some animals and very, very specific situations in which we see a possibility of it maybe happening. But this does not guarantee that it will ever be applied in humans because of simple reasons that it doesn't work in humans as we are very different animals than an axolotl, or for another logical reason of ethical research practices, that we can't just inject axolotl cells into human brains to see what it does and if it has any regenerative properties. The best techniques we now have for very specific diseases, like Parkinsons and very severe treatment restistand depression are deep brain stimulation, or neurosurgery like in epilepsy and seizure related disorders. Otherwise it is just medication which we know how it kindof works in about half of it, and we are still finding out how they exactly work (like tricyclic antidepressants and its effect on the neural networks implicated in psychological disorders). So yes, compared to the 60's where we injected people with seizure-inducing drugs or huge amounts of glucose to get the brain in a "near-death" experience after which it was thought to "reset" itself. But we do not know nearly enough to do any of the things you mentioned, or even figure out how to research them.

[@DaveDablave]

Hopefully you had someone there incase you lost the ability to turn it back on. Come to think of it the device should probably have a safeguard against that. Perhaps add a timer to the "off" setting.

[@subbumanuri485]

Dave dablave NJ

[@bigdirtysheep]

Thank you for posting this video Andrew. I'm studying Psychology as my minor subject as part of my degree program. I found this as part of my research for my upcoming Psychology module where the lecture topic is Parkinson's Disease and particularly DBS. This shows the effect of how DBS can change someone's life. I know it isn't as easy as "Hey doc, can I have DBS today please? Thank you" and you walk out. This shows a very brief insight in to your experience of how DBS has affected your life in a profound way. Thanks again for sharing this

[@SueMead]

Hear that ol' NZ accent, straight away. Thanks so much for taking the time to demonstrate this system and also to show us just what your life would be like without it. I hope you're doing well.

[@margaretappleton3437]

Looks like my nephew that time he got an exorcism in church.

[@hayderimran7]

o man so you are troll too..lol i L[e]terally took you serious about your comment on 'christian ghost ' vid .. you are truly le gem and fine m'lady . tips dickora.. edit:sorry my euphoria leveld up

[@samp4045]

hayderimran7 shh

[@rlowdon]

Fuck off

[@Arturas002]

LOL

[@DennisJayDole]

You have no empathy or humanity left in you, do you? Seriously. Show some respect.

[@Nubito1980]

Man I love science...poor guy.

[@Peguinator777]

This is amazing! I had no clue of this until I saw your video. I am glad that it has helped you on having a good life. I hope the best for you and thank you for raising awareness.

[@blobbem]

Okay, that is really awesome. Props for showing it off, and the humour was a nice addition.

[@yaseeenali636]

it made me even feel better after you've turned it back on. don't turn that fucking shit of again thanks ;)

[@AbdulMatinLittle]

AJ, wack an advert on this video or something will you so we can get you some money by clicking, if you don't want donate to Parkinson's charity in your area.

[@onose10000]

I'm so happy for you Andrew. My grandpa struggled for over 30 years up until his last breath with this disease. I'm really glad you were able to get help.

[@Max2themillion]

You sir are one of the most astonishing and bravest people i have ever laid eyes on. my uncle was diagnosed at 43 years old and died 9 years later and i am so glad to see other Parkinson's disease victims be able to have such an opportunity like this. God bless you.

[@RaleighBurke]

Wow.

[@QuintinScott]

Yeah, I saw this video a couple of months ago. Technology is amazing.

[@JeremyPetho]

Thit wus in untiristung uxpirumint

[@Calztchi]

*uxpurumunt

[@odenmof]

Amazing, thanks for being brave to make this video! Happy for you and others who gets this surgical treatment and that it works. :)

[@ingeradores3791]

That's crazy. I'm so glad you got the procedure done and that it helped you! You're a truly strong person! Hope you live a long and forfilling life !:-)

[@TravelsWithJerry]

Dude you are part cyborg. That is so rad.

[@rbpowah]

pls dont shake my soda plsplspls

[@supervegeta101]

Did you do that on purpose?!

[@kommi1974]

Pretty fucked up. Karma is a bitch. How dare you insult this man. If this is something you find humor in, you are an awful human being.

[@BooBirdo]

As someone in risk of at some point getting afflicted with this illness, this fills me with a lot of hope. Thank you for dealing with this momentary pain to show us this.

[@JuiceCampbell]

That was extremely professional and informative. You have done the world a service.

[@joevi2593]

Has anyone thought about that maybe he is just fucking with us? Where is the proof?

[@AndrewJohnsonNZ]

what proof would you like?

[@joevi2593]

Andrew Johnson It's not even about the proof it's just that fact that anyone can make a KZbin video and start switching. People can't just believe anything that they see.

[@AndrewJohnsonNZ]

Agree, but I did this for awareness not profit and can assure you am not faking it. I applaud your sceptical thinking though!

[@Sqrrl101]

levi hernandez He's exhibiting classic Parkinson's symptoms, which are quite difficult to fake unless one is very familiar with the disease (the tremor frequency, for instance, is right in line with normal Parkinsonian tremor). He's also using a Medtronic external control device, which would be difficult to get if one didn't have an implanted neurostimulator - Deep Brain Stimulation implants and programming equipment is very expensive. Even if he is "fucking with us", which I strongly suspect he isn't, he's doing such a good job of imitating the real life effects of successful Deep Brain Stimulation on Parkinson's Disease that the video is still very informative.

[@Prodro25]

Uhh the proof is in the video... That little remote he's holding probably costs more than you make in a year. But you know, it's all to fuck with people on youtube, right?

[@emuwithrabies]

"Where religion fails, Science always succeeds." - Alvin Ainsworth.

[@varswitch]

fantastic so sad yet so wonderful to have this release and relief my heart goes out to you man

[@billyshears4009]

you're a very brave man. good on you for posting this video to show people what this disease is like and how an operation like yours can change someone's life. much love.

[@TishGames]

Great way to lose weight though

[@CarSyndicate]

it would just make you extremely tired constantly, not to mention uncomfortable since you cant control it.

[@jimgurucactus]

That's really impressive! It's amazing to see how dramatic and rapid the effect is. I'm very glad to see that it provides so much relief for you from the most obvious of the symptoms of Parkinson's.

[@Son0fHobs]

Thanks for showing this vid. My grandad eventually died of/with parkinsons disease. I never really knew him because he got it when I was too young. Seeing the degeneration was really sad. I'm glad to hear technology/medicine has come a long, long way, and you've been able to benefit so much from it.

[@WorldsFastestHypnotist]

Thank you for posting this, AJ! I like your sense of humor too!

[@DeuceBoots]

I had no idea how effective DBS is. Thank you for posting this.

[@aceladd3911]

That's amazing! I was very impressed at how fast it worked, it's so nice to know that things like this exist for people.

[@vaiciciaku]

Thank you very much for sharing your experience. Our professor at the university recommended to watch this while we were studying brain. I hope you are doing well today as well.

[@stevecav1138]

"Quality cocktails?" you rock! I was also urging you to turn it back on like it was a tense thriller scene. Thanks for sharing.

[@aaandieee]

I had never heard of DBS before Andrew, thank you for sharing this! The world feels like a slightly better place now that I know there is some relief available for qualifying Parkinson's patients. Thanks!

[@wazbat1]

It's sad seeing your case being the way it is, but your sense of humor is amazing. Nice job getting it done, it seems to have improved your quality of life

[@lucybeeify]

My husband also was diagnosed with early onset PD, but not as early as you. It's wonderful how successful the DBS has been for you. Good to know that will be available to us when the time comes. Thank you so very much for sharing this. The best of luck to you.

[@oxide7]

Thank you so much for sharing this. It's amazing, and you are great for showing this people. This had me almost to tears.

[@RustyKeys72]

Hi AJ. Your video had such an impact on me. Thank you so much for sharing this. I'm deeply affected by your courage and willingness to openly educate people about your condition and the technology that is helping you. Thanks mate. All the best.

[@CrimsonAmaryllis]

Quality cocktails! On top of everything, I'm really glad his humour still stands strong.

[@raulito651]

Your sense of humor is golden, glad to see you can laugh at your misfortune.

[@Jdelucajr89]

That was very brave of you to share. I found it extremely interesting and moving. I'm very happy for you that you're able to live a normal life with such a condition. Thank you.