Posted on 10/16/2006 4:01:30 PM PDT by wagglebee
Atlanta, GA (LifeNews.com) -- Using pulses of electric current, a team of doctors reportedly restored some of a brain-damaged man's speech and movement. The process gives hope to incapacitated patients like Terri Schiavo that more research in this area could lead to the ability to bring people out of comas or improve their conditions.
The team of neuroscientists was able to treat a 38 year-old assault victim who had barely been conscious for a period of six years. Using the treatment, he was gradually able to use his left arm and was able to utter coherent words for the first time since the injury.
Before their efforts, could respond to questions on occasion by moving his thumb or nodding, but was essentially mute and unable to move.
Doctors implanted two wire electrodes deep into the man's brain, according to a New York Times report, in a process that is called deep brain stimulation. It has frequently been used to treat people suffering from Parkinson's disease.
The doctors involved are slated to present the case to the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience in Atlanta. They said it may provide hope to patients like this man but the surgery also presents ethical questions about operating on patients who can't give their consent.
Terri Schiavo received the treatment as well but some experts say she received it too soon after her collapse for it to have made much of a difference.
"I think this case suggests that this surgery probably will be one of the choices of treatment we can give to certain patients who have some chance of recovery," Dr. James L. Bernat, a professor of neurology at Dartmouth Medical School, told the Times about the case.
He indicated the treatment would mostly be beneficial for patients who already have some responsiveness.
The research team in the case works at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell, the JFK Johnson Rehabilitation Institute in Edison, N.J., and the Cleveland Clinic Foundation.
In other words, further treatment would have quite possibly made a huge difference, but Terri was denied that by those who wanted her dead.
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I'm sure she'll be glad to hear that, considering hope is meaningless to her now!
encouraging news. i am constantly amazed by medical science.
so many could benefit from this...head traumas, c.p., etc.
It's interesting that it's taken researchers this long to try this remedy. I'm no doctor, but it seems like a fairly logical thing to try.
marking my place. Thanks.
http://www.judgegeorgegreer.com/
One of my friends, a singer at the Paint Valley Jamboree, has parkensons. They installed the electroded in his brain and applied electrical power. The improvement was just amazing. He is walking, talking and singing just fine.
It is amazing what can be done today. Larry could barely talk and walk before the electrodes were installed. Now he is very close to being normal.
The research team in the case works at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell, the JFK Johnson Rehabilitation Institute in Edison, N.J., and the Cleveland Clinic Foundation.
Let's skip the article and guess. Vote democrat.
Jeb Bush for president... /sarc off
Huh?
No translations. Work on it.
You need a DU to FR Dictionary. There is no literal translation, but it has something to do with pro-life democrats and pro-death Republicans. It's that whole "up is down and down is up" thing.
Algore?!?
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