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Music conductor with Parkinson’s sees symptoms improve with deep brain stimulation
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Music conductor with Parkinson’s sees symptoms improve with deep brain stimulation

Jimmie Dempsey
Last updated: May 10, 2025 9:19 am
Jimmie Dempsey Published May 10, 2025
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An Ohio music conductor is using deep brain stimulation to combat his Parkinson’s disease.

Rand Laycock, 70, the director and conductor of a symphony orchestra, was diagnosed just before his 60th birthday, according to a press release from Cleveland Clinic.

“My doctor at the time told me [a Parkinson’s diagnosis] wasn’t a death sentence, and there would be advancements over the next few years to help with my treatment,” said Laycock.

STEM-CELL THERAPY FOR PARKINSON’S SHOWS ‘STRONG PROMISE’ IN RELIEVING SYMPTOMS

Even after a regimen of medications, however, Laycock’s symptoms continued to progress over the next 11 years.

When tremors in his right hand began increasing in severity and frequency, he began exploring other treatments.

“The tremor would really start to be pronounced if I had a deadline coming up for something with the orchestra,” Laycock told Cleveland Clinic.

DOCTOR SHARES WAYS TO PREVENT GETTING PARKINSON’S DISEASE

He also started experiencing dyskinesias, which are involuntary movements that can be a side effect of long-term use of certain Parkinson’s medications.

Michal Gostkowski, DO, a neurologist at Cleveland Clinic, introduced Laycock to the alternative option of deep brain stimulation (DBS), which was described as a “pacemaker for the brain.”

Music conductor, Rand Laycock, is pictured in a side-by-side image. On the left he lays in a hospital bed wearing a gown as he looks into the camera with a tired smile, his forehead bandaged. On the right, he is pictured from the front underneath stage lights illuminating his silhouette as he conducts his (un-pictured) orchestra with a wand in his right hand, appearing focused with his thumb and index finger touching on his right hand with a fingerless glove.

DBS is a “treatment that involves an implanted device that delivers an electrical current directly to areas of your brain,” according to Cleveland Clinic.

There are billions of neurons in the brain, which communicate using electrical and chemical signals. Some brain conditions, including Parkinson’s, can make those neurons less active, the same source stated.

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Deep brain stimulation applies an electrical current to make those neurons more active.

In May 2024, Laycock received a brain implant as the first step of the DBS therapy. He then activated and set up his device with programmer Erica Hennigs, the release detailed.

“I know the thought of brain surgery can be intimidating, but it’s a life-changing procedure that allows you to become your own self again.”

“When it comes to programming the device, we try different settings at first,” said Hennigs. “We then adjust those during follow-up visits as we learn more about how his symptoms are being controlled.”

After seeing success for nearly a year, Laycock progressed to a more advanced form of DBS called adaptive deep brain stimulation, or aDBS.

Rand Laycock, music conductor being treated for Parkinson's disease sits in an office next to a man in a suit facing away from the camera and towards a desk with a computer and tablet on it. Sat in front of a whiteboard and what appears to be a blood pressure machine in the background, Laycock dresses casually as he lifts bits hands into the air, as if he is conducting an orchestra

“Traditional DBS gives the same stimulation to the brain 24 hours a day. What makes aDBS different is that it can adapt and fine-tune the stimulation in real time,” said Dr. Michael Gostkowski, a neurologist at Cleveland Clinic, in the release.

“By tracking a certain frequency in the brain, it can increase or decrease the stimulation as needed to better control symptoms.”

Laycock was a good candidate for the advanced therapy because his symptoms fluctuated throughout the day, which means a treatment that could adapt to those fluctuations could be more effective, according to the clinic.

“Since Rand’s a music conductor, fine-tuning with aDBS would reduce the risk of him experiencing tremors if his medication were to wear off in the middle of a concert or performance,” said Hennigs.

Rand Laycock sits upward in a hopsital bed wearing a gown, smiling into the camera with eyes wide as he holds an orange popsicle thay has been bitten into

Because of his previous positive experience with DBS, Laycock jumped at the chance to receive the new version.

“It sounded like it would make my life simpler – not having to worry about adjusting my device settings and medications as frequently,” he told Cleveland Clinic.

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The conductor’s implanted device was able to support new adaptive technology, so it was just a matter of working with Hennigs to update the settings. 

Laycock began receiving aDBS in March 2025. Now, his tremors are almost completely gone except for times of extreme stress or anxiety, according to the release.

In a side-by-side image, (on the left) music conductor with Parkinson's disease, Rand Laycock sits on the floor with what appears to be his granddaughter on his right leg, holding an open storybook as they both look down at one of its pages. On the right side, Laycock is pictured with what appears to be his wife on the left side and his daughter holding a yellow flower in the middle as they all face the camera smiling

“And my dyskinesia is pretty well under control,” he said. “My symptoms are minimal compared to the way they were, and a lot of that is due to adaptive deep brain stimulation.”

Laycock is now approaching his 47th year as a music conductor, the release stated, and he looks forward to spending time with his wife, two children and granddaughter. 

For more Health articles, visit www.foxnews.com/health

Gostkowski encourages Parkinson’s patients to ask their doctors about DBS or aDBS as an option to control symptoms and improve quality of life.

Laycock added, “I know the thought of brain surgery can be intimidating, but it’s a life-changing procedure that allows you to become your own self again.”

Read the full article here

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