A so-called “pacemaker for the brain” successfully restores muscle function in Parkinson’s disease patients with significantly fewer side effects than other surgical treatments, according to researchers. To fit the brain-pacemaker surgeons implant a number of electrodes into the brain and bathe the tissue in radiation, to power the electrodes they then implant a pacemaker-like device under the skin. The resulting stimulation has the same benefits as operations that destroy tissue, without the debilitating side effects. Tests showed that the pacemaker improved patient’s muscle control by 49%, on average, when the device stimulated an area of the brain called the subthalamic nucleus, and by 37% when it was implanted into another called the globus pallidus. Study co-author Dr. C. Warren Olanow, said: “The benefits of brain stimulation are truly remarkable.”
SOURCE/REFERENCE: Reported by www.latimes.com on the 27th September 2001
