Technology Gives Hope To Stroke Paralysis Patients
Patients suffering from stroke could soon be relieved from stress if the research about a tickle technology will fundamentally be put into action.
Heather Rendulic, a patient suffering from carvenous angioma after nine years of pain, was on February mid relieved from pain after attending a free trial carried out by a joint of scientists from the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University.
Carvenous Angioma a brain disease characterised by blood vessel abnormality that causes stroke, unluckily got Rendulic when she was 22.
The Pittsburgh resident based in US say she has been struggling with her left stroke- hand for nine years and finding it a hurdle to handle some house chores.
However, when the scientists called for a test of an electronic device that teases some nerve impulses in research for stroke medication, Rendulic went to Pittsburgh medication center for free test.
While there, the medical scientists implanted a pair of thin metal electrodes along her neck, connected to her spinal cord.
The electrodes which gives tiny impulses that stimulates specific regions and activate nerve cells inside the spinal code, when Rendulic was implanted and the electrodes on the surface light, she say; she received a tickle that made her hand to move.
” When the stimulation was on, I felt like now I have control over my arm and my hand again that was not in use for over nine years ” she said.
According to the medical scientists, when the electrodes are lit, they activate/stimulate the sensory neurons from the spinal cord that brings back life and allow blood to flow smoothly.
“The sensory nerves from the arm and hand send signals to motor neurons in the spinal cord that control the muscles of the limb.
” By stimulating these sensory nerves, we can amplify the activity of muscles that have been weakened by stroke. Importantly, the patient retains full control of their movements.
“The stimulation is assistive and strengthens muscle activation only when patients are trying to move” said study co-author Dr. Douglas Weber, a professor of mechanical engineering at the Neuroscience Institute at Carnegie Mellon University.
Rendulic’s condition had stopped blood on her left hand to move up to the brain and down to the hand nearly a decade. According to the report published on Nature Medicine journal, the condition had made her even difficult to lift a spoon and even hold a plate.
However, the researchers also found another good surprise after putting Rendulic on several exercises as they reported on Monday, on Nature Medicine concerning the improvement upon the use of the tickle electrodes on Rendulic’s neck.
“We found that after a few weeks of use, some of these improvements endure when the stimulation is switched off, indicating exciting avenues for the future of stroke therapies,” said study co-author Dr. Marco Capogrosso, an assistant professor of neurological surgery at Pitt.
If the tickle electrodes will continue to be tested to persons suffering from stroke and bear good reports, patients suffering from the rare condition will have hope of regaining their lost working body organs.
Doctors however predict that 1 in every 4 persons over 25 years of age will have stroke in his/her lifetime and many will develop some kind of paralysis according to World Stroke Organization.
World Health Organization on the other hand point out that some people suffer from stroke due to stress, shock brought about by unexpected traumatizing news, drugs and physical attacks.