Inside Tract: Can deep brain stimulation survive its reputation for success?

When she was 37, Clare developed a tremor down her left side. At 39, she was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease and put on a series of medications. These helped for a time, but the effect didn't last. Within a few years, her tremors had grown so severe that Clare was dropping food at her waitressing job. She couldn't seat guests, and she burned herself when she tried to help out in the kitchen. Increasingly unable to support herself and at a loss for other options, Clare began to look into something called deep brain stimulation (DBS).