2023-11-06 17:56:07
Lausanne and French neuroscientists presented on Monday a neuroprosthesis correcting gait disorders associated with Parkinson’s disease. This allowed a first patient to walk fluidly, confidently and without falling.
Disabling gait disorders occur in approximately 90% of people with advanced Parkinson’s disease. These problems are often resistant to available treatments.
“The idea of developing a neuroprosthesis electrically stimulating the spinal cord to harmonize the gait and correct the locomotor disorders of Parkinson’s patients is the result of several years of research,” explains Grégoire Courtine, professor of neuroscience at EPFL, CHUV and at the University of Lausanne.
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Unlike conventional treatments that target regions of the brain directly affected by the loss of dopamine-producing neurons, this neuroprosthesis targets the area of the spinal cord responsible for activating leg muscles during walking. An area which is not a priori directly affected by the disease.
The project started in 2009. “We said to ourselves “why not?” “, especially since there is no spinal cord injury,” adds neurosurgeon Jocelyne Bloch, professor at CHUV, UNIL and EPFL, and co-director of the NeuroRestore center. with Grégoire Courtine.
Today, “it is impressive to note that by electrically stimulating the spinal cord in a targeted manner, in the same way as we did in paraplegic patients, we are able to correct the walking disorders caused by the disease. of Parkinson’s,” notes the researcher.
At this stage, this therapeutic concept has demonstrated its effectiveness in a single person, with an implant which must still be optimized for large-scale deployment, nuance the authors of this research published in the journal Nature Medicine.
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