2023-11-10 16:25:18
Swiss specialists from the Federal Polytechnic School of Lausanne, using a specially developed neuroprosthesis, managed to compensate for gait disturbances in monkeys, as well as in one patient with late-stage Parkinson’s disease. This is what it says publication V Nature Medicine.
In the later stages of this disease, those suffering from it experience problems with gait and maintaining balance. To treat such conditions, deep brain stimulation or drugs are used that restore the lack of dopamine, which, in turn, is considered a key cause of problems with the motor system. In addition, in order to modulate brain activity, electrical stimulation of either the cervical or thoracic regions of the brain is sometimes used, the influence of which, however, is very limited, and sometimes they do not show effectiveness at all.
The Swiss decided to try to stimulate the lumbosacral region, influencing the neurons that provide walking, which are not directly affected by the disease. First, the scientists tested the prosthesis they developed on rhesus monkeys, which were stimulated with disorders that mimic Parkinson’s disease, which made it possible to achieve almost problem-free walking, as well as improve their posture.
After this, scientists made a neuroprosthesis for a 62-year-old man who had been suffering from the disease for 26 years. They approached his case a little differently, and did not place electrodes in the brain, limiting themselves to sensors on the leg muscles, signaling the intention to start moving and generating impulses for epidural stimulation. This was enough to make it much easier for the man to walk and maintain balance, and the improvement progressed following three months of training.
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