Preliminary 6-month results from the first-in-human trial of deep brain stimulation of the subgenual singulate cortex for chronic low back pain, suggested that the procedure reduces pain, opioid use, and disability. In addition, the procedure was well tolerated with no serious adverse events or complications.
"Our hypothesis is that DBS will help these patients by modulating brain circuits that mediate chronic pain," Bari said. He underwent stereotactic implantation of bilateral SCC DBS electrodes and placement of an implantable pulse generator. Probabilistic tractography was used to target the SCC region with connectivity to a combination of participant-specific white matter fibers associated with affective neural networks. Stimulation-related side effects were ruled out using awake intraoperative testing.
"So, when we say nonsurgical back pain, we're already putting into a category that's a little bit muddy," Staudt said.