Brain Electrodes Help a Man Function Again

A man was beaten and left for dead by robbers one late night while he was trying to make his way home in 1999. The robbers crushed his skull and he ended up with very severe brain damage from the incident. The doctors told family members that if ended up making it through all of this, that he would more than likely be in a vegetable state for the rest of his life. The mans identity is unknown due to his families request.

For almost six long years the man couldn't eat without assistance or speak. On occasion he would use his thumbs or move his eyes for what little communication he could use. He could not use his arms and was fed through a tube the whole time. Researchers chose him for an experimental attempt to speed up his brain by placing electrodes inside of it. The mother stated how his son has changed after the experiment. "My son can now eat, speak, watch a movie without falling asleep," she said Wednesday while choking back tears during a telephone news conference. "He can drink from a cup. He can express pain. He can cry and he can laugh." "The most important part is he can say, `Mommy' and `Pop.' He can say, `I love you, Mommy' ... I still cry every time I see my son, but its tears of joy."

The experimental treatment that the doctors performed on him is called deep brain stimulation. This treatment has been used for many years in treating Parkinson's disease, but in this case the electrodes were placed in very slightly different places. The goal of the stimulation was to provide a little boost to areas of the brain that are critical for specific skills.

The man's electrodes are left on for about 12 hours a day and he has continued to improve since the experiment ended back in early 2006. After the research was over, doctors started giving him the drug amantadine, which has shown some potential for treating people in a minimally conscious state. Doctors haven't determined whether amantadine can boost the effects of deep brain stimulation or not.

On a side note, a similar treatment did not help Terri Schiavo, the Florida woman in a vegetable state whose care triggered national controversy before her death in 2005. This is the regular outcome on people that are in a vegetable state in most instances.

Source

http://www.happynews.com/news/812007/brain-electrodes-help-man-speak-again.htm