Parkinson's breakthrough as spinal cord implant helps patient leave home again
A 63-year-old whose debilitating Parkinson's disease left him unable to climb stairs or leave the house alone can now walk comfortably thanks to a spinal cord implant.
Marc Gauthier has lived with the condition for almost 30 years and had such fragile mobility he would fall up to six times every day. He was forced to stop working as an architect three years ago when the disease worsened.
But thankful Marc, from Pessac in France, can now enjoy strolls around a nearby lake every week after he became the first person to have the implant, which works by electrically stimulating the spinal cord in a targeted manner. The work from neuroscientists and neurosurgeons who developed the impressive implant means Marc can now walk comfortably and confidently.
Marc Gauthier is the first person to receive the new treatment (PA)Marc, who previously had dopamine and deep brain stimulation to deal with his illness, joked that his wife was pleased that he can now leave her to have time to herself. He said: "After the therapy, the surgery I was able to go out alone again. There were things I could redo, some easier, some more difficult, but I could redo many things I couldn't before. For example, walking into a store would be very difficult, impossible, before, because of the freezing of gait that will often happen in those environments. And now it just doesn't happen anymore - I don't have freezing anymore."
Marc now enjoys much more freedom and can walk on his own (PA)Unlike conventional treatments for Parkinson's, which target the regions of the brain directly affected by the loss of dopamine-producing neurons, the implant targets the area of the spine responsible for activating leg muscles while walking. Jocelyne Bloch, a neurosurgeon and professor at the CHUV University Hospital Lausanne, Switzerland, added: "It is impressive to see how by electrically stimulating the spinal cord in a targeted manner, in the same way as we have done with paraplegic patients, we can correct walking disorders caused by Parkinson's disease."
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Researchers say the implant opens up new possibilities to deal with walking disorders that many people suffering from Parkinson's diseases are affected by, although it has only been tested in one person and further trials are needed. But thanks to funding from the Michael J Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research, the NeuroRestore centre is going to carry out clinical tests on six new patients next year.
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