“Getting into a lift. It sounds simple, but for me it was really impossible,” says Marc in conversation with the BBC. Now I don’t have a problem with it anymore.”
‘Very interesting treatment’
Marc says that he fell several times a day because he sometimes ‘froze’. A known symptom of the disease. For example, it happened when he had to get into an elevator. “Now I’m not even afraid of the stairs anymore. I go to the lake every Sunday and then I walk around. Really incredible.”
He tells his story in the video below:
“A very interesting new treatment,” says professor of neurology Bas Bloem at Radboud university medical center. “Most Parkinson’s treatments focus on correcting what’s going wrong in the brain. This looks at what’s happening downstream. They look at what needs to happen to get a muscle in your leg to work.”
‘I think this will happen’
The researchers do this with an implant near the spinal cord, which sends impulses to the leg muscles. Marc still has control over his legs, but the device that sends the signals to his legs ensures smooth execution.
Bloem is delighted with the research and the results: “It offers hope, I think this will happen. But more work is needed.”
Parkinson’s has different forms
Good news for Parkinson’s patients, but it certainly does not mean that an intervention in the Netherlands can be scheduled in the short term. The French researchers are aiming for another five years of work, Bloem thinks that is a realistic estimate.
That time is really necessary for two reasons, Bloem explains. Parkinson’s has different manifestations. “This gentleman was diagnosed with Parkinson’s at the age of 32. That is a different type than if you get the disease later in life. It needs to be found out whether this treatment works.”
‘Gives a tingling feeling’
A second reason is that Parkinson’s is a ‘very placebo-sensitive disease’, says Bloem. In previous studies, dramatic improvements also occurred in people who received the placebo instead of the actual treatment. “You have to investigate that carefully.”
French patient Marc turns on the stimulating device in the morning and actually experiences little discomfort. “It gives a bit of a tingling feeling,” he says.
Revalidation
However, this was not arranged overnight. Neurosurgeon Jocelyne Bloch placed the device in Marc’s back almost two years ago. Then his rehabilitation could begin.
Bloch is impressed with the result. “We can really correct gait disorders in this way as we previously did in paralyzed patients.”
‘Falling is the number 1 cause of death’
“What you need now is a real clinical study. For example, twenty people who receive the implant, and twenty who undergo a fake operation,” says Bloem.
Enough hurdles before this treatment is accessible to a large group of patients, but there is certainly hope for the future. And that is necessary, because the number of patients with Parkinson’s is growing.
Bloem: “Parkinson’s patients often fall due to freezing of their legs, as did this Frenchman. This causes many problems in daily life and is also one of the main causes of death for patients with the disease. This could be partly prevented. “
2023-11-07 13:20:32
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