The neurosurgeon who pioneered DBS receiv... - Cure Parkinson's
The neurosurgeon who pioneered DBS receives the 42nd Honda Prize. Now he is exploring treatments with light using fibre optic cable implants
Interesting
"Although Benabid retired from full-time work in 2007, he continues the search for new possibilities in movement disorder treatment. “The question now is, can we stop disease progression at the very beginning?” says Benabid. As the co-founder of Clinatec, a biomedical research centre based in Grenoble, he is exploring treatments with light. Instead of electrodes, Benabid’s team is using fibre optic cable implants to illuminate the brain’s substantia nigra with near infrared light, which is thought to protect dopamine-producing neurons from death."
The new strategy, for which clinical trials are underway, targets patients with few motor problems, but with reduced dopamine levels indicative of early Parkinson’s. “There’s no reason that only infrared light would bring benefits - it’s only a tiny part of the spectrum of light,” adds Benabid. “I am pushing strongly that our lab systematically explores the benefits of different ranges of lights.” As part of this work, he has asked Australian red and near infrared light specialist, John Mitrofanis, to join him at Clinatec.
