Electrode treatment basically consists of applying electrical current through a conductive device to a certain part of the body in order to fight a disease. One of the most important applications carried out so far was to implant electrodes in the brain to alleviate symptoms and reduce the trembling of patients with Parkinson's disease. In some cases the technique proved more effective than traditional surgery. Scientists also say this technique could be used in the near future to treat other diseases, such as depression.

 

The neurology department of Monte Sinai Hospital in New York has carried out several tests with electrodes. In one of them, researchers placed an electrode in the motor cortex of the brain of a person with Parkinson's and facial pains. While applying the method the team observed that the motor problems caused by the disease eased. Another experiment involved applying an electrode to the subthalamic nucleus of the brain of a Parkinson's patient. But it had limitations because, besides being expensive and time-consuming  (a six to eight hour procedure) it cannot be applied to all patients..

 

Specialists at the November 20 National Medical Center in Mexico City recently implanted a neurostimulator in a patient to treat Parkinson's disease. The patient was only 43 but suffered from severe rigidity and had been under treatment for years with high doses of medicine. Using stereotactic surgery, an implant was carried out to install a neuro-stimulator, a device that gives off electrodes that simulate the nervous system. So some symptoms weaken, such as shaking, rigidity and uncontrolled movements of the body. The only setback with this implant is that for now it costs 10,000 euros.

 

People who have suffered a cerebrovascular accident or have some kind of paralysis can also benefit from this new technique to head off more severe complications. Thus, for example, patients who are immobilised in bed face a greater risk of suffering thrombosis. At the same time, muscles that cannot be used weaken and turn so limp that the arm can dislocate. To avoid loss of muscle tissue, a problem which is at the origin of all these problems, researchers at the University of Southern California have developed electrodes just two millimetres in diameter. They are small enough to be injected directly into the muscle and prevent loss of muscle tissue. Once implanted, they work like artificial neurons and activate with a radio signal from a transmitter carried by the patient. In this way, the patient controls even the frequency and intensity of the electrical stimulus generated by these tiny devices, called BION.