To treat diseases directly affecting the brain, surgery or so -called invasive treatments are often used. Particularly demanding for patients, these procedures are far from being pleasure. If neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson and Alzheimer sometimes require interventions, researchers have developed a device, an ultrasonic helmet, capable of replacing these invasive procedures.
Indeed, at the origin of this project, we find in particular Charlotte J. Stagg, professor at the University of Oxford in England, who co -wrote the study and who participated since its inception, more than 12 years ago.
“” “When we started this project, I was pregnant with my daughter. She is 12 years old now. I hope we will see the first clinical trials before it goes to university“She told Guardian.
The objective was to develop an ultrasonic helmet, a much less invasive treatment than the processes currently used to tackle Parkinson or Alzheimer, to be integrated into an MRI scanner.
After more than a decade of development, the ultrasonic helmet was tested on seven volunteers with future benefits for patients with neurodegenerative diseases.
Commentator of the study, a professor of the University of Plymouth notably declared to the British daily that the work of Charlotte J. Stagg and the other researchers “represented a fundamental advance in neuroscience which opens the way to clinical applications”.
How does this ultrasonic helmet work?
Although he is “bulky and it gives a feeling of suffocation when you put it on the head”, According to Ioana Grigoras, researcher at Oxford and co -author of the study, he showed all his potential.
Its objective is simple: replace the current technique known as deep brain stimulation. This consists according to the Foundation for Medical Research to “Establish electrodes in the heart of the brain allowing to deliver an electric current which modifies the operation of precise groups of neurons.”You now understand why it is a so -called invasive treatment.
The goal is to do at least the same thing, but without implanting anything in the brain and stimulating the different neurons thanks to ultrasound. In addition, researchers have managed to show that the regions targeted by the helmet can be up to 1000 times smaller than those stimulated by electrodes. In other words, it may also be more precise.
“” “In patients with Parkinson's disease, the objective would be to target a region of engine control and see the tremors disappear“Explained Charlotte J. Stagg to the British media.
But researchers see much more than treatment against Parkinson or Alzheimer in this ultrasonic helmet. Indeed, it could also be very useful for treating depression, addictions, schizophrenia or even Gilles de la Tourette syndrome.
Source : The Guardian
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