7. Cleveland Clinic treating stroke patients with brain stimulation
The Cleveland Clinic is pioneering deep brain stimulation for stroke recovery, with an ongoing clinical trial to determine if Boston Scientific’s Vercise DBS system improves movement in recovering stroke patients.
Dr. Andre Machado and his team performed the six-hour deep brain stimulation surgery on Dec. 19, 2016. The procedure implanted electrodes into the cerebellum section of the brain. The deep brain stimulation electrodes emit small electric pulses while connected to a pacemaker device and help people recover motor control.
“If this research succeeds, it is a new hope for patients that have suffered a stroke and have remained paralyzed after a stroke. It is an opportunity to allow our patients to rehabilitate and gain function and therefore gain independence,” said Machado in a press release. “Our knowledge to date shows that deep brain stimulation can help the brain reorganize, can help the brain adapt, beyond what physical therapy alone can do. The goal of our study is to boost rehabilitation outcomes beyond what physical therapy alone could achieve.”
Post-surgery, patients return home to recover. Upon recovery, they begin physical therapy. The deep brain stimulation is turned on after a few weeks of rehabilitation while the patient continues physical therapy. The patient can be monitored and evaluated regularly to see how deep brain stimulation is boosting the effects of physical therapy.
Read more about the Cleveland Clinic’s deep brain stimulation.
Patricia T Perry says
Hey. I have a son in law that suffers from chronic stomach pain and has for many years. He is 44 and has been to John Hopkins, Duke, and smaller hospitals over the last 10 plus years. All they can do is give him medicine. He is disabled, in the bed most of the time, unable to be a husband or father of an autistic 6 year old. He has developed diabetes now. They say there is a disconnect between his brain and the nerve linings of his stomach. I happened to see this article and was wondering if this brain stimulation could be an answer to prayer. What do you think?
Regards,
Pat
Chris Newmarker says
Thanks for reaching out, Pat. I’m not an expert, so I don’t know enough to answer your question intelligently. I would suggest reaching out to researchers and companies doing neuromodulation work and get their opinions. EnteroMedics, for example, has a neuromodulation device to treat obesity. (http://www.enteromedics.com/) Perhaps they might have insights? Hope this helps. Hope your son-in-law’s health improves.