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Parkinson’s patient able to walk 6km without problems after spinal implant (www.theguardian.com)
submitted 1 year ago by fossilesque@mander.xyz to c/medicine@mander.xyz
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[-] jacobc436@lemmy.ml 12 points 1 year ago

This is great but will the implants by this company expire and stop working once it gets bought out or goes out of business, like with so many other experimental implants that worked great? (No /s) In case article goes kaput:

‘’’ Sticking an electrode inside a person’s brain can do more than treat a disease. Take the case of Rita Leggett, an Australian woman whose experimental brain implant changed her sense of agency and self. She told researchers that she “became one” with her device.

She was devastated when, two years later, she was told she had to remove the implant because the company that made it had gone bust. ‘’’

https://www.technologyreview.com/2023/05/25/1073634/brain-implant-removed-against-her-will/

[-] TonyTonyChopper@mander.xyz 3 points 1 year ago

you will own nothing

[-] otter@lemmy.ca 6 points 1 year ago

What happened after 6km? /s

After receiving the implant, which aims to restore normal signalling to the leg muscles from the spine, he has been able to walk more normally and regained his independence.

“I practically could not walk any more without falling frequently, several times a day. In some situations, such as entering a lift, I’d trample on the spot, as though I was frozen there, you might say,” he said. “Right now, I’m not even afraid of the stairs any more. Every Sunday I go to the lake, and I walk around 6 kilometres [3.7 miles]. It’s incredible.”

[-] ivanafterall@kbin.social 6 points 1 year ago

They took the implant back and thanked him for testing it for them, then wheeled him back to his care home.

[-] otter@lemmy.ca 2 points 1 year ago

Ouch...

[-] autotldr@lemmings.world 3 points 1 year ago

This is the best summary I could come up with:

The first patient to receive a spinal implant to treat advanced Parkinson’s disease has described experiencing “a rebirth” after the treatment allowed him to walk again without falling over.

Marc, 63, from Bordeaux, France, was diagnosed with the degenerative disease more than 20 years ago and had developed severe mobility problems, including balance impairments and freezing of gait.

But the Swiss team, who have a longstanding programme to develop brain-machine interfaces to overcome paralysis, hope that their technology could offer an entirely new approach to treating movement deficits in those with Parkinson’s disease.

“It is impressive to see how by electrically stimulating the spinal cord in a targeted manner, in the same way as we have done with paraplegic patients, we can correct walking disorders caused by Parkinson’s disease,” said Jocelyne Bloch, neurosurgeon and professor at the CHUV Lausanne University hospital, who co-led the work.

First, the team developed a personalised anatomical map of Marc’s spinal cord that identified the precise locations that were involved in signalling to the leg to move.

The patient wears a movement sensor on each leg and when walking is initiated the implant automatically switches on and begins delivering pulses of stimulation to the spinal neurons.

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this post was submitted on 06 Nov 2023
124 points (100.0% liked)

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