New DBS Electrodes: Fighting Disease Deep... - Cure Parkinson's

Cure Parkinson's

26,582 members27,897 posts

New DBS Electrodes

5 Replies

Fighting Disease Deep Inside the Brain

Feb. 17, 2013 — Some 90,000 patients per year are treated for Parkinson's disease, a number that is expected to rise by 25 percent annually. Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS), which consists of electrically stimulating the central or peripheral nervous system, is currently standard practice for treating Parkinson's, but it can involve long, expensive surgeries with dramatic side effects. Miniature, ultra-flexible electrodes developed in Switzerland, however, could be the answer to more successful treatment for this and a host of other health issues.

Share This:

12

Related Ads:

Parkinson 'S

TMS Depression

Treat Diseases

Research Trials

See Also:

Health & Medicine

Diseases and Conditions

Parkinson's Research

Disability

Mind & Brain

Disorders and Syndromes

Depression

Stroke

Reference

Deep brain stimulation

Brain damage

Neurology

Essential tremor

Professor Philippe Renaud of the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland has recently reported on soft arrays of miniature electrodes developed in his Microsystems Laboratory that open new possibilities for more accurate and local DBS. At the 2013 Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Boston, in a symposium called "Engineering the Nervous System: Solutions to Restore Sight, Hearing, and Mobility," he announces the start of clinical trials and early, yet promising results in patients, and describes new developments in ultra-flexible electronics that can conform to the contours of the brainstem -- in the brain itself -- for treating other disorders.

At AAAS, Renaud outlines the technology behind these novel electronic interfaces with the nervous system, the associated challenges, and their immense potential to enhance DBS and treat disease, even how ultra flexible electronics could lead to the auditory implants of the future and the restoration of hearing. "Although Deep Brain Stimulation has been used for the past two decades, we see little progress in its clinical outcomes," Renaud says. "Microelectrodes have the potential to open new therapeutic routes, with more efficiency and fewer side effects through a much better and finer control of electrical activation zones." The preliminary clinical trials related to this research are being done in conjunction with EPFL spin-off company Aleva Neurotherapeutics, the first company in the world to introduce microelectrodes in Deep Brain Stimulation leading to more precise directional stimulation.

Read more about...
5 Replies
Norton1 profile image
Norton1

Hello Anthony,

Just to say that I enjoy the subjects of the blogs you bring to this website. They are different and often, like this one, heartening. Keep on posting.

Kind regards

Norton

in reply toNorton1

Sure any news I get I will post

shall1019 profile image
shall1019

I feel the same. I feel like you're doing my work for me and am so grateful.

gettome profile image
gettome

let me know when it's perfected , but I hope it is before it's too late

srarndt profile image
srarndt

Thank you for the update! Hope can be such an elusive and lovely friend and foe...

Not what you're looking for?

You may also like...

New DBS Method .

Less-Invasive Method of Brain Stimulation Helps Patients With Parkinson's Disease ScienceDaily...

DBS Off vs DBS On - Deep Brain Stimulation

Hi all This video shows the effect that Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) has upon my Parkinson's...
Ianfrizell profile image

DBS safe for older patients

TUESDAY, Aug. 26, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- The risk of complications when implanting deep brain...

Benjamin Stecher About To Undergo DBS

I'm not posting this to start a debate about the merits of Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS), but I do...
jimcaster profile image

Lot of questions re DBS lately. Everything you could want to know.

Chapter 1 Introduction to Surgical Therapies for Parkinson’s Disease ............4 Chapter 2 An...
MBAnderson profile image

Moderation team

See all
CPT_Aleksandra profile image
CPT_AleksandraAdministrator
CPT_Anaya profile image
CPT_AnayaAdministrator

Content on HealthUnlocked does not replace the relationship between you and doctors or other healthcare professionals nor the advice you receive from them.

Never delay seeking advice or dialling emergency services because of something that you have read on HealthUnlocked.