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Oran Knowlson from the UK became the first patient to have a neurostimulator implanted directly into the brain to treat epilepsy. The operation, carried out in October 2023 at London's Great Ormond Street Hospital when the boy was 12 years old, produced excellent results: the number of seizures was reduced by 80%. This is reported by daily.afisha.ru with reference to the BBC.
Before the operation, Oran suffered from severe epilepsy, with a frequency of seizures ranging from 20 to 100 per day. Seizures could lead to a fall, loss of consciousness, and in some cases even respiratory arrest, requiring urgent resuscitation.
“Epilepsy stole his entire childhood”, - laments Oran’s mother.
The new neurostimulator, implanted in an area of the thalamus responsible for transmitting signals between neurons, generates constant pulses of current, blocking or disrupting the abnormal signals that cause seizures. The device is charged wirelessly through special headphones.
Deep brain stimulation techniques have been used previously to treat childhood epilepsy, but neurostimulators were implanted in the chest and wires were connected to the brain.