'Brain pacemaker' cures Tourette's sufferer

11:30 AEST Wed Dec 28 2011
Health Hub staff

A woman with Tourette's syndrome who suffered uncontrollable muscle spasms has been all but cured, after doctors drilled into her head to place electrodes in her brain.

British woman Jayne Bargent is one of the first Tourette's sufferers to be implanted with the "brain pacemaker", which sends tiny electric impulses into the region believed to cause muscle tics, Sky News reports

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Surgeons at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery in London planted two electrodes in her brain, which were linked to a pacemaker battery in her chest.

Mrs Bargent is now able to live a normal life, as her tics have almost completely disappeared.

She had been unable to drive, read or walk properly because her neck and head were so badly affected.

Sky News filmed Mrs Bargent's recent operation, and returned six weeks later to capture the moment the electrodes were switched on.

About 40 minutes after the device was switched on, Mrs Bargent's tics had almost completely disappeared.

Consultant neurosurgeon Ludvic Zrinzo told Sky News doctors did not know exactly why the technique worked.

"What we think is happening is that there is some disorganised information travelling through circuits in the brain. We are dampening these messages and allowing other parts of the brain to take over," he said.

Mrs Bargent said she felt like she "had her life back" after the treatment.

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