External Brain Stimulation Improves Mobility in Parkinson's Patients: Johns Hopkins

A new study says that external electric stimulation of the brain can help people with Parkinson's disease (PD) improve mobility.

Some people with Parkinson's disease tend to slow down and decrease the intensity of their movements as dopamine neurons generally die on one side of the brain, affecting the ability of the patient to exert effort with the opposite side of the body.

Indian Researchers in Uttar Pradesh Discover New Drug for Parkinson's Disease
Infusing the chemical dopamine into the brain can relieve symptoms but scientists have not yet found a way to safely deliver the drug to the brain.

"The loss of dopamine associated with Parkinson's disease makes the effort required to move the affected side of the body seem greater, so the brain is less willing to use that arm to complete tasks," said study senior author Reza Shadmehr, professor of biomedical engineering at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, US.

"Our study suggests that direct current stimulation can compensate somewhat for the loss of dopamine by decreasing the effort the brain has to put into getting its motor neurons to fire," Shadmehr noted.

The study with a small group of patients with PD demonstrated that stimulation of the cortex of the brain using external electrodes corrected some of the distortion and temporarily improved some patients' motor symptoms.

Brain Device with 25 Years Battery Life
Implanting a brain device for Parkinsons disease to treat diseases with abnormal brain stimulation will be used widely with the extended battery life.

The investigators specifically found that one form of stimulation, known as cathodal transcranial direct-current stimulation (tDCS), worked best and that the patients who got such stimulation were more willing to engage their affected arm than those who received no stimulation.

Importantly, they observed that the stimulation produced an average improvement of 25 percent in the motor symptoms of the patients, particularly improving rigidity on the affected side.

Existance of Neurological Diseases Spotted by Brainwave Markers
COGNISION system can be used to detect brainwave markers that point to the existence of certain neurological diseases.

"As far as we know so far, the effects of tDCS are very temporary, but that's not surprising since no new dopamine cells are being created, which is the root of the problem," Shadmehr cautioned.

"The brain would get used to the stimulation -- just as it adjusts to medications -- and also become less responsive over time, but we are hopeful that continued stimulation might improve symptoms," he noted.

3D Microscopy May Help Crack Secrets of Alzheimer's
Scientists have edged closer to cracking Parkinson's and Alzheimer's secrets with the help of cutting edge 3D microscopy.

The study was published online in The Journal of Neuroscience.

Source-IANS