(WYTV) — Someone suffers from a stroke every 40 seconds in this country, and a stroke is a leading cause of long-term disability. Let’s show you what’s going on at the Cleveland Clinic.
The researchers here have been exploring the use of what’s called deep brain stimulation to help those who’ve suffered a stroke recover. The doctors first implanted electrodes into a part of the brain.
“It’s a little bit like a pacemaker inside the brain. The pacemaker in the heart sends pulses to control the heartbeat,” said Dr. Andre Machado of Cleveland Clinic. “The deep brain stimulation sends electrical pulses into the brain to help manage some of the brain activity to help a disease or a problem.”
The stroke patients in the test were suffering from moderate to severe muscle weakness on one side of their bodies. The electrodes delivered electric pulses to help them regain control of their movements and most of them, nine out of 12, did.
What this deep brain stimulation did was improve movement more than what physical therapy alone could have done alone. The research goes on.
