How the world’s first brain implant to control epileptic seizures works
- Oran Knowlson, has become the first person in the world to be fitted with a brain implant to help bring his epileptic seizures under control.
- The deep brain stimulation (DBS) device, which sends electrical signals deep into the brain, has reduced Knowlson’s daytime seizures by 80%.
Epilepsy
- Epilepsy, a condition that leads to recurring seizures, sees a person experience jerking of arms and legs, temporary confusion, staring spells, or stiff muscles.
- It is caused by abnormal electrical activity in the brain.
- The disease has no identifiable cause in nearly 50% of the cases. However, head trauma, tumours in the brain, some infections like meningitis, or even genetics can lead to epilepsy.
- In India, between 3 and 11.9 per 1,000 people suffer from epilepsy, according to a comment in a 2022 Lancet study.
How does the device work
- The neurostimulator delivers constant electrical impulses to the brain to disrupt or block abnormal seizure-causing signals.
- The device uses DBS, which is also utilized for movement disorders associated with Parkinson’s, and other neurological conditions.
- Although DBS has been tried before for childhood epilepsy, until now neurostimulators were placed in the chest (instead of the brain), with wires running up to the brain where the leads were placed on the affected region
- It is not the first line of treatment for epilepsy. Doctors first use anti-seizure medicines and a ketogenic diet, which is high in fats and low in carbohydrates.
- Although the reasons are not well understood, a ketogenic diet is known to reduce seizures, even in children with treatment-resistant epilepsy.
- If that does not work, doctors can carry out brain surgery to remove a portion of the brain where the seizures originate.
How expensive is DBS?
- Neurostimulators cost about Rs 12 lakh. There are additional surgical costs that one has to pay in private hospitals
- Keeping this in mind, such devices should be suggested only for those who have epilepsy which originates from different parts of the brain (instead of one focal point), making operations less viable.
- DBS can also be an option when drugs and diet have failed to control seizures.