NEW YORK, April 15 ― People with advanced Parkinson's disease often struggle to walk more than a few steps or sleep through the night, but new research offers hope of relief from these two debilitating symptoms.
For Parkinson's sufferers, it happens because a regulator in the brain ― which normally ensures sufficient blood flows to the brain when we stand up ― has been disrupted.last week found that a spinal cord implant could help advanced Parkinson's patients get back on their feet.Earlier this year neurosurgeon Jocelyne Bloch and Gregoire Courtine revealed that such an implant had enabled three paralysed people to walk again.
For paralysed people, the spinal cord implant mimics how the brain sends electrical pulses to muscles, reconnecting a severed link. However it is a single case and further research is needed, particularly involving Parkinson's patients. The medication apomorphine is normally used to replace dopamine, lessening symptoms such as shaking and stiffness.A device similar to an insulin pump that delivers continuous apomorphine throughout the night could solve the problem, according to a study published in the journal Lancet Neurology on Thursday.