tiny electrical zaps the brain seem calm Herky-jerky movements of people with Parkinson's disease. The results of a pilot scheme, described in this month's issue of Nature Medicine , suggest a potential new therapy for the disease, which affects about 1% of older Americans.
Parkinson's is a movement disorder that causes stiffness and movement of boot problems. The disease is caused by the death of dopamine producing cells in the brain, an event that leads to changes in the architecture of the brain affecting neuronal communications. In particular, an area at the end of the basal ganglia, the globus pallidus, increases its suppression of activity in other brain regions. "It is like a brake on a car," says Andres Lozano, neurosurgeon at Toronto Hospital "The movements of Parkinson's patients are slow, irregular, jerky -.. It is as they drive with their brakes" Ultimately, doctors sometimes destroy the globus pallidus of Parkinson's patients who do not respond to drug therapy to replace the lost dopamine.
Taking a different approach, the team inserted electrodes Lozano in the globus pallidus of Parkinson 21 volunteers. Using a CT scanner emission tomography (PET) to measure electrical activity, the team found that Lozano sending electrical impulses rapidly oscillating globus pallidus triggered an increase in blood flow to the premotor cortical areas, brain regions that are responsible for planning and launching the movement. At the same time, the researchers found, the movements of subjects become faster and more fluid.
The beneficial effect of this mechanism is a mystery. "It is still unclear what is happening," says Mahlon DeLong, a neurologist at Emory University in Atlanta. He thinks that electric shocks can temporarily disable depolarize and thus neurons in the globus pallidus, allowing premotor cortical areas to resume normal operation.
DeLong said a larger study is needed to compare the benefits of therapy with the electrode surgical removal of the globus pallidus. But he predicted that the treatment of the electrode gain favor as a better understanding and visualization of the brain allows more precise interventions. "We are on a new wave of important new treatments for Parkinson's disease and other movement disorders," he said, leading to "restore a large number of patients with a better quality of life."
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