In the UK, a teenager was implanted with a brain implant to control epileptic seizures
Kyiv • UNN
A British teenager has become the world's first person to receive a brain implant that reduces the number of epileptic seizures by 80% through electrical stimulation.
For the first time in the world, a person has been implanted with a brain implant to control epileptic seizures. A British teenager became the first person in the world to undergo such an operation. This is reported by The Guardian, according to UNN.
Details
It is stated that 13-year-old Oran Knowlson has Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, a severe form of epilepsy that manifests itself in childhood. He developed the syndrome at the age of three.
The guy could have up to a hundred epileptic seizures a day, he lost consciousness and had breathing problems, which required resuscitation. Because of this, he needed round-the-clock care, as seizures could occur at any time of the day.
During the surgery, two electrodes were implanted deep into the teenager's brain. The device, 3.5 cm in size and 0.6 cm thick, was placed in the space in the skull where the bone had been previously removed.
As soon as the guy recovered from the surgery, the device was turned on and it began to create constant mild electrical stimulation of the brain in order to block the electrical pathways that allow seizures to take hold.
The neurostimulator is placed under the skull and sends electrical signals deep into the brain, reducing daytime seizures by 80%. The boy's mother says that after the surgery, his quality of life has significantly improved.
