Marc, a Frenchman from Bordeaux who suffers from Parkinson’s disease, was the first person to benefit from a new treatment that could change the lives of many patients. Thanks to an implant in the spinal cord, he was able to After years of loss of balance and falls that had a major impact on his daily life, he regained his ability to walk long distances.
This terrible neurodegenerative disease is often accompanied by uncontrollable tremors that make everyday tasks such as eating difficult. But the consequences actually extend far beyond these shocks. Like most patients with Parkinson’s disease, Marc suffered from major mobility problems; He had difficulty keeping his balance and tended to freeze between steps, often ending in a fall.
A team specialized in neuroprosthetics
But everything changed when he was selected for a study by researchers from Inserm, the University of Bordeaux and LausanneEPFL. This team, co-led by neurosurgeon Jocelyne Bloch, is known worldwide for its work on neuroprostheses. These are devices that artificially stimulate the nervous system to help patients overcome neurological damage of biological or traumatic origin.
This work has already produced impressive results. In February 2022, the same researchers announced that thanks to implants of this type, they had managed to restore the ability to walk in three paraplegic people.
Three paraplegics were able to walk again thanks to a new spinal implant
They then wanted to test a variation of the same system on a patient with Parkinson’s disease. To achieve this, the team had to calibrate the system specifically to their patient’s case. The first step is to create an accurate anatomical map of the spinal cord. This makes it possible to precisely identify the locations involved in leg movement. After this inventory, they were able to implant electrodes at the target sites.
From then on, we had to find a way to electrically stimulate her with the right intensity and, most importantly, at the right time. To achieve this, they equipped the patient’s legs with motion sensors that communicate with the electrodes to send a signal at the right time. This makes it possible to correct in real time the signals sent by the brain, the integrity of which is compromised by Parkinson’s disease.
Extremely encouraging results
And the experiment produced some pretty spectacular results if we go by what Marc said; it describes a true resurrection. “I practically could no longer walk without regularly falling several times a day,” he says in the EPFL press release. “In some situations I found myself stomping on the spot as if I were frozen. Now I’m not even afraid of stairs anymore. Every Sunday I go to the lake and run six kilometers. It’s incredible “.
“It is impressive to see that through targeted electrical stimulation of the spinal cord, as we have already done with paraplegics, we can also correct these gait defects caused by Parkinson’s disease,” says Jocelyne Bloch happily.
A larger clinical trial is planned for 2024
The authors of the study urge patience and insist that this is still only a proof of concept. But this excellent result motivates her to keep going. The next step will be implementation a larger clinical trial on a group of six people. The aim of this program, which is scheduled to begin in 2024, is to first verify whether this neuroprosthesis can actually help all patients affected by Parkinson’s disease regain their mobility.
But researchers are looking even further; They want to go beyond gait problems. This clinical trial will be an opportunity to test whether these neuroprostheses can do the same Treatment of other neurological disorders associated with Parkinson’s diseaselike that famous tremor that prevents patients from handling objects normally.
There is currently no treatment that truly cures this condition; but now these neuroprostheses could at least Significantly improve the quality of life of patients in the relatively near futureand that is a big step forward – both literally and figuratively.
The text of the study can be found here.