Justin D. Hilliard
M.D./Assistant Professor | University of Florida
Gainesville, FL, UNITED STATES
Dr. Justin Hilliard performs deep brain stimulation surgery for treatment of medically refractory movement disorders.
Biography
Dr. Justin D. Hilliard is an assistant professor of neurosurgery in the Lillian S. Wells Department of Neurosurgery, College of Medicine, at the University of Florida. His primary focus is performing deep brain stimulation surgery for the treatment of medically refractory movement disorders such as Parkinson’s disease, Essential tremor and dystonia. He has extensive experience and a particular interest in the treatment of: brain tumors, spinal cord tumors, cranial trauma and spine trauma. He is regarded as an advocate of neurosurgical education and is involved in the Congress of Neurological Surgeon’s Education Committee, where he currently serves as chair of the webinar committee.
Areas of Expertise (4)
Spine Surgery
Deep Brain Stimulation
Brain Tumors
Movement Disorders
Articles (3)
Dopaminergic but not cholinergic neurodegeneration is correlated with gait disturbances in PINK1 knockout rats
Behavioural Brain ResearchV.M. DeAngelo, J.D. Hilliard and G.C. McConnell
2022-01-24
Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder characterized by gait dysfunction in later stages of the disease. PD hallmarks include a decrease in stride length, run speed, and swing time; an increase in stride time, stance time, and base of support; dopaminergic degeneration in the basal ganglia; and cholinergic degeneration in the pedunculopontine nucleus (PPN). A progressive animal model of PD is needed to identify treatments for gait dysfunction.
Time for a New 3-D Image for Globus Pallidus Internus Deep Brain Stimulation Targeting and Programming
Journal of Parkinson's diseaseJoshua K. Wong, et al.
2021-08-02
Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is an effective neuromodulatory therapy for Parkinson’s disease (PD). Early studies using globus pallidus internus (GPi) DBS for PD profiled the nucleus as having two functional zones. This concept disseminated throughout the neuromodulation community as the “GPi triangle”. Although our understanding of the pallidum has greatly evolved over the past 20 years, we continue to reference the triangle in our clinical decision-making process. We propose a new direction, termed the spatial boundary hypothesis, to build upon the 2-dimensional outlook on GPi DBS. We believe an updated 3-D GPi model can produce more consistent, positive patient outcomes.
Ventral Intermediate Nucleus Versus Zona Incerta Region Deep Brain Stimulation in Essential Tremor
Movement Disorders Clinical PracticeRobert S. Eisinger, et al.
2017-11-01
The ventral intermediate nucleus (VIM) is the target of choice for Essential Tremor (ET) deep brain stimulation (DBS). Renewed interest in caudal zona incerta (cZI) stimulation for tremor control has recently emerged and some groups believe this approach may address long-term reduction of benefit seen with VIM-DBS.
