Uploaded August 2024 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago

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Former pro skateboarder and San Francisco Skate Club founder Shawn Connolly has seen dramatic improvements in his Parkinson's symptoms as part of a UCSF clinical trial.

UCSF researchers implanted an adaptive deep brain stimulation (aDBS) device that responds to his symptoms in real time. The device picks up on brain signals that indicate a symptom is developing and delivers just the right amount of electrical stimulation to stop it.

The research is a collaboration between UCSF neurosurgeon Phil Starr, MD, PhD, and neurologist Simon Little, MBBS, PhD.

“It's like turning back the clock on Parkinson's disease, to give people function like when their symptoms were very well controlled and mild.” – Phil Starr

Learn more about the research that changed Shawn's life:
https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2024/04/427391/new-parkinsons-treatment-helps-former-pro-keep-skateboarding

#parkinson #newdiscoveries