ST'r News Media Kit
News Room
(Click here to download a Word document of this page)
Contacts:
Tom Andrews
Andrews Media Ventures
(262) 673-6263
andrewst@charter.net
Howard Thiel
Executive Director
ST/Dystonia, Inc.
(262) 560-9534
howardthiel@sbcglobal.net
NEW ST TREATMENTS HIGHLIGHT NATIONAL ST SYMPOSIUM OCT. 3-5
Deep Brain Stimulation Operation, Live Botox Injection Among Featured Presentations
September, 2003 Milwaukee, WI - Can you imagine living for years and years with a painful, often humiliating medical condition that most doctors - let alone most people - know little or nothing about? Spasmodic Torticollis (ST), a baffling and devastating neurological disorder that directly or indirectly impacts the lives of nearly a half million Americans, comes into sharp focus at a very special three-day national symposium next month in Milwaukee. The Dystonia Daze VI Symposium will be held at the Four Points Sheraton Hotel near Mitchell International Airport at 4747 S. Howell Avenue,
October 3-5. Top medical experts will be on hand to share the very latest news in treating this disorder while patients from across the country will come to learn and share their stories on coping with ST.
This year's Symposium features a number of exciting new treatments for ST, including:
- The Deep Brain Stimulation Operation (DBS), in which a continuous current is transmitted to the brain with the insertion of permanent small electrodes. Dr. Theodore W. Eller, a leading neurosurgeon who has done more than 200 similar operations, will explain how this procedure is done. The object of DBS is to disrupt or stop the output of a dense collection of nerve cells - about the size of the tip of your little finger - from deep within the brain to prevent the cells from transmitting the wrong information.
- A Live Botox Injection Demonstration. About 80 percent of ST patients receive excellent results and relief from their symptoms with injections of botulinum toxin, either Botox (type A) or Myobloc (type B). Symposium attendees will witness a Botox injection first-hand.
Dystonia Daze VI Symposium Set - 2
- Chiropractic Neurology, which includes chiropractic adjustments, brain exercises, water, sound and other forms of stimulation, has also been shown to
benefit people with ST. Beka Serdans will give her first-hand account of how Chiropractic Neurology achieved amazing results for her. - The Selective Denervation operation, in which nerve muscles are cut to reduce the effects of ST, will be discussed by Dr. Carlos Arce of the University of Florida at Jacksonville. Dr. Arce, the world's best neurosurgeon for the Selective Denervation operation, will explain how it is done and who can benefit most from this procedure.
In addition, former Wisconsin Governor Lee Sherman Dreyfus will be on hand to share the story of his wife, Joyce, who was diagnosed with ST in 1990 - and how her condition has impacted their lives. Robert McAlister, Ph. D., executive director of the Dystonia Medical Research Foundation (DMRF), will bring attendees up to date on the latest research into ST.
Spasmodic Torticollis (ST) is a neurological disorder characterized by abnormal movements of muscles that can be very forceful, extremely painful and can literally change a person's life. Part of a larger family of neurological disorders called dystonias, ST usually starts slowly with a small pain at the base of the neck. The situation gets worse week by week and is then followed by rotating or pulling sensations and severe pain. The pain gets so bad that normal, everyday activities like sitting, standing, walking, standing, eating or brushing teeth can become extremely difficult to nearly impossible. Further complicating the entire situation is the fact that most ST victims end up losing their jobs or have extreme difficulty getting their health insurance plans to pay for treatment.
About ST/Dystonia, Inc.
ST/Dystonia, Inc. was founded in 1989 by Howard Thiel and Harry Chobanian to help people who suffer from ST and other forms of dystonia to become improved human beings, provide them with hope for the future and to help them readapt into society. It is dedicated to informing people that there is no need for despair because there is much hope and help for ST patients and their loved ones. Currently, the organization has about 2,100 members worldwide and offers a number of benefits and services including a quarterly newsmagazine, a 30-page Oral Medication Booklet, annual symposiums around the United States and Canada, private for-members-only archives/library containing all of our magazines going back to January 1999, a kit which enables people to obtain disability, and much more.
Editor's Note: To make arrangements to interview the physician presenters, other speakers or ST patients attending the Symposium, please contact Tom Andrews. Additional information about spasmodic torticollis (ST), including an electronic version of our media kit, is available at www.spasmodictorticollis.org or by calling (888) 445-4588