Brain implants that are helping people with Parkinson's
Although the brain is our most complex organ, the ways to treat it have historically been rather simple. Typically, surgeons lesioned (damaged) a structure or a pathway in the hope that this would 'correct the imbalance' that led to the disease. Candidate structures for lesioning were usually found by trial and error, serendipity or experiments in animals. While performing one such surgery in 1987, French neurosurgeon Alim-Louis Benabid noticed that the electrical stimulation he performed to locate the right spot to lesion had effects like the lesion itself. This discovery led to a new treatment: deep brain stimulation.
It involved a pacemaker delivering electrical pulses via electrodes implanted in specific spots in the brain. This treatment has been used to treat advanced Parkinson's since the early 2000s. However, until today, the stimulator settings had to remain constant once they were set by a specialised doctor or nurse and could only be changed when the patient was next seen in the clinic.
Accordingly, most researchers and doctors thought of stimulation as merely an adjustable and reversible way of lesioning. But these days the field is undergoing a revolution that challenges this view. Adaptive deep brain stimulation was approved earlier this year by the US and European health authorities. It involves a computer interpreting brain activity and deciding whether to adjust the stimulation amplitude up or down to achieve the best relief of a patient's symptoms. Parkinson's is a complex disorder with fluctuating symptoms that are greatly affected by the drugs a patient takes several times a day. While for some patients' constant stimulation does a good job controlling their symptoms, for others it is too strong some of the time and overly weak at other times. Ideally, the treatment should only kick in when it is most helpful.
The discovery that made adaptive stimulation possible was made by scientists at University College London over two decades ago, around the time when the first patients with Parkinson's started getting electrodes implanted in the UK National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery.
When recording deep brain activity from these electrodes shortly after the surgery, the scientists noticed that a particular kind of brain wave appeared when a patient stopped medication, the symptoms worsened. The waves went away when the patients took their medication and started feeling better. It took a decade of further research before the same team of scientists first attempted to use the brain waves to control stimulation. The idea is akin to a thermostat controlling an air conditioner.
When the waves (temperature) reach a certain threshold, an electronic control circuit turns the stimulator (A/C) on. This reduces the waves and when they go away the stimulation can be turned off for a while until the waves re-emerge. The original setup was bulky and could only be used in the hospital, and it took another decade to make it fit inside a device smaller than a matchbox that could be implanted in a patient's chest.
New challenges
While the option to make brain stimulation adaptive gives new tools to doctors and nurses to fit stimulation to a patient in the best possible way, it comes with new challenges. Even with the original fixed settings, there are many parameters that doctors must set to ensure effective treatment with minimal side-effects.
Making stimulation adaptive adds another layer of complexity and puts extra demand on a clinical team's time and attention. In the case of Parkinson's, stimulation effects are almost immediate, so it is relatively easy to see how well particular constant settings work. But an adaptive setting must be tested over at least a few days to see how well it copes with the patient's daily routine and medication cycles.
Adaptive stimulators also come with sensing abilities. They can record the harmful brain wave levels over days and weeks so that the clinical team can review them and see how well they are controlled. These possibilities are new in the treatment of Parkinson's, although similar implanted devices have been in use for years by cardiologists and epileptologists (neurologists who specialise in epilepsy).
Studying brain waves recorded by the smart stimulators in Parkinson's patients opens new doors for understanding other diseases. Many patients suffer from problems such as depression and cognitive decline. Researchers could search for features in their brain signals that track the severity of these symptoms using AI tools to find relations too subtle or too complex for a human observer.
A parallel branch of deep brain stimulation research is focused on precisely mapping out the brain circuits responsible for different neurological and psychiatric symptoms. Several recent studies reported successes in treating depression, OCD and severe headaches. Stimulating in the right place at the right time considering what the patient is doing is where the field is heading. With the basic technology now in place, progress could be rapid.
(The writer is a Professor of Translational Neurophysiology, UCL)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hindustan Times
13 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
Scientifically speaking: Your nose knows best
The honeydew tasted like a sugary potato. That was my first clue that something was wrong. I pride myself on having a keen sense of smell (sometimes to my disadvantage in putrid places), but overall it has served me well. So, you can imagine my dismay when, just days after returning from Thailand last year, I temporarily lost my sense of smell. As the American saying goes, the best part of coffee is waking up to smell it. Anosmia was the single indicator that I might've caught an infection. I immediately bought a smell training kit online with vials of lemon, clove, eucalyptus, and rose, and whiffed them regularly, morning and night. Fortunately, my sense of smell returned to normal within weeks, and I soon forgot about that chapter. But many others aren't so lucky. The Covid-19 pandemic thrust anosmia into public consciousness, revealing how common and distressing smell loss can be. Before the pandemic, many people didn't even know that infections could steal this sense. Now we know that weird misfiring of smell is a hallmark of Covid and its aftermath, with many never fully regaining what they've lost. This astounding claim seems to be backed by science. A landmark study following over 3,000 older people found that 39% of those with complete smell loss died within five years, compared to just 10% of those with normal smell. After accounting for other health factors, anosmia emerged as a surprisingly strong predictor of five-year mortality, perhaps comparable to heart failure, diabetes, or even cancer. To be clear, losing your smell doesn't doom you to an early death. Rather, it's a warning that something else might go wrong. The connection goes beyond mortality. Losing the sense of smell has been linked to more than 100 conditions, from Parkinson's and Alzheimer's to cardiovascular disease and arthritis. The worse your sense of smell, studies show, the worse you perform on cognitive tests. Also Read: Can stress trigger early onset of Parkinson's disease? Doctor explains Why would smell loss predict dire outcomes? The answer lies in our nose's unique wiring. Unlike other senses that route through the brain's central relay station, smells take the express lane directly to regions controlling emotion, memory, and decision-making. This superhighway explains why certain scents can instantly transport us to childhood memories. When it breaks down, we lose a vital source of mental stimulation. The olfactory system also serves as an early warning system. Pathological proteins associated with neurodegenerative diseases accumulate in smell-related brain regions years before classic symptoms appear. Meanwhile, our nose's direct exposure to the environment makes it vulnerable to collective damage from pollution and pathogens—damage that may reflect broader health problems. In other words, your nose is the canary in the coal mine for your health. When it stops working properly, it might be telling you about inflammation lurking elsewhere, stem cells that aren't regenerating like they used to, or even everyday dangers you can no longer detect. Given these implications, I find it remarkable how little we value this sense. Surveys consistently show people would rather give up smell than their smartphones. Yet emerging research suggests we should be paying much more attention to our noses. Also Read: 6 easy ways to protect your parents' brain health: Simple lifestyle changes to reduce risk of Alzheimer's or Parkinson's The good news is that smell training appears to work. Studies show that people who regularly sniff distinct odours can improve their olfactory sensitivity. One intriguing study even found that people exposed to different scents while sleeping showed dramatic improvements in memory, though we need more research to know if this works for everyone. And speaking of Parkinson's, the diagnostic power of smell works both ways. While losing your sense of smell can signal health problems, some people possess an extraordinary ability to detect disease through scent. Joy Milne, a Scottish nurse, noticed her husband's body odour had changed to a 'musty' smell 12 years before he was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. When she later attended a support group and realised everyone with Parkinson's had the same distinctive scent, she approached researchers who confirmed her ability. She could identify Parkinson's patients by smell alone, even detecting one case well before clinical symptoms appeared. My own brief episode of smell loss gave me a glimpse into this hidden world. Those days of bland coffee and flavourless food felt like living in a muted reality. Now, when I smell my coffee brewing, I'm reminded that the signs of good health might be right under our noses. Anirban Mahapatra is a scientist and author, most recently of 'When The Drugs Don't Work: The Hidden Pandemic That Could End Medicine'. The views expressed are personal.
Time of India
17 hours ago
- Time of India
How to remove heart attack causing microplastics from drinking water at home
Tap water is one of the most common way of hydration. The human body is made up of 62 to 70% water. No living organism can survive without water. Water helps in digestion, the respiratory process, and blood circulation. It is the primary element for survival for all. The most common way of consuming water is tap water. But it cannot always be a healthy option for people in many countries. Tap water comes directly from rivers or other sources. It is not filtered and may have contaminants and toxic particles in it. One of the most common concerns these days is the presence of microplastics in water. According to a study conducted by Orb Media titled "Invisibles: The Plastic Inside Us," it was found that tap water samples from 14 countries were found to contain microplastics. What came as a shock was that almost 83% of the samples contained microplastics. micro plastic are small particle size of 1m to 5m. What exactly is microplastic? Microplastic is a plastic particle sized between 1 nanometer to 5 millimeters, which makes it smaller than a grain of sand. Microplastic was usually found in oceans but has now made its way into daily life. A WWF report revealed that drinking water sources—groundwater, tap water, and surface water—are the biggest contributors of microplastic in daily life. On average, a person consumes 1,769 microparticles on a weekly basis. Another report from POLS One provided deeper insight into how microparticles vary with regional differences in water. In that report, it was found that 94% of US tap water contains microparticles, whereas 72% of European borders have microplastic particles, and India has over 82.4% microplastic in its tap water. The report also stated that an average person consumes 5,800 particles on a daily basis, 88% of which come from tap water. A New England Journal study has found that drinking microplastic water can increase risk by 4.5 times. Effect of microplastic on the human body Microplastic can cause significant damage to the human body. It can irritate the digestive tract, causing inflammation. A recent study published in The New England Journal of Medicine has found a link between microplastics in carotid arteries and an increased risk of heart attacks, strokes, and death. Study found that individuals with microplastics in their carotid plaque had a 4.5-fold higher risk of these events compared to those without. Microplastic contains harmful chemicals like BPA, phthalates, and flame retardants. They can cause: Endocrine disruption (affecting hormones) Carcinogenic effects (linked to cancer) Neurotoxic effects (may harm the brain, especially in infants) One natural way to flush out the toxins, is by drinking adequate water. Recent studies to remove microparticles A recent study by scientists at Guangzhou Medical University and Jinan University said that boiling tap water catalyzes mineral (calcium carbonate) deposition, which captures microplastics. It removes up to 90% of particles. After boiling it, you have to filter it using a coffee filter or kettle mesh, allowing water to be filtered further. It is considered a low-cost, effective method that can be used in daily routine. One step to a healthier you—join Times Health+ Yoga and feel the change
Hindustan Times
18 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
Trump spotted with strange bulge in his pants. Elon Musk's Grok responds to urine bag theory
A section of the internet was nearly convinced that Donald Trump is wearing a Foley catheter, a tube inserted into the bladder to drain urine that is collected into a bag, as people highlighted a strange bulge in the US President's trousers in recent photos. Two moments sparked theories about Trump, 78, possibly wearing a catheter - his appearance at the UFC championship fight in New Jersey and a photo from White House. "Trump appears to wearing leg braces and possibly a catheter. The weakness on his right side has been pretty evident for a number of years. And the bruising on his right hand might be caused from his receiving infusion therapy of some sort. Common with a Parkinson's type disease," X user Dave said. "Trump is absolutely wearing a Foley catheter. It's a tube inserted into the bladder to drain urine into a bag strapped to the leg. That line down his pants? Not a crease. It's tubing," another user, Alice Vaughn, said in a now-viral X post that has over two million views. Soon after, another user shared undated photos of Trump at a golf course, with him having a similar bulge in his trousers. Several X users, meanwhile, tagged Elon Musk's Grok and asked the AI assistant tool to elaborate on the bulge in Trump's pants. "There's no evidence Donald Trump has "Bungalow Legs," a humorous, non-medical term. Social media posts speculate about a bulge in his trouser leg, suggesting a catheter or brace, but his April 2025 medical report states he's in "excellent health" with no such issues," Grok said responding to a user's question. "The bulge could be wrinkles or lighting. Without verified medical evidence, these claims remain unconfirmed. Treat online health rumors about public figures with skepticism, as they often lack credible backing." Grok gave almost similar responses to other X users' question on whether Trump was wearing a catheter. On Sunday, Donald Trump stumbled while walking up the steps of Air Force One in New Jersey, shortly after heavy rainstorms swept through the Bedminster area. The President quicky regained his balance as seen in viral videos. This is not the first time there have been health concerns about Trump. In 2024, he underwent had a colonoscopy that found a benign polyp and the condition called diverticulosis, according to a health report released by White House in April. The US President also shed 20 pounds since his last physical as president in 2020. He weighed 244 pounds back then and is now down to 224 pounds, the report said.
