Implant in the brain: drug treatment in the USA with unique operations

Patients with severe opioid dependence will be implanted in the brain to reduce their craving for drugs. Such an operation was first carried out in the USA on November 1 of the 2019 of the year. Writes about it with the BBC.

Фото: Depositphotos

33-year-old Herod Bakhalter struggled with substance abuse for more than ten years, he had relapses and overdoses. He was the first patient to undergo surgery to revive an implant.

Leading doctor Ali Rezai called the device a “pacemaker for the brain.” But he added that this is not consumer technology and should not be used to “improve people.”

Buckhalter underwent surgery on November 1 at the University of West Virginia Medical Clinic. Three more volunteers will also undergo this procedure.

It all starts with a series of brain scans. This is followed by an operation in which doctors make a small hole in the skull to insert a tiny electrode with a diameter of 1 mm into a specific area of ​​the brain that regulates impulses such as addiction and self-control.

A monitoring device is inserted under the collarbone, and a group of doctors, psychologists and drug experts will remotely monitor brain activity to see if the craving for drugs disappears.

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So-called deep brain stimulation (DBS) has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of a number of conditions, including Parkinson's disease, epilepsy, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. About 180 000 people around the world already have brain implants.

This is the first time DBS has been approved for the treatment of drug addiction, and it was a difficult test in which many teams participated, including ethics experts, psychologists and many regulatory authorities.

Over the next two years, patients will be closely monitored.

“Addiction is a complex process, there are social dynamics and genetic elements at play, and some people will not have access to treatment, so their brains will slowly change and they will be more tempted,” Dr. Rezaei said. “This is a treatment for those who have failed any other treatment, be it medicine, behavioral therapy, social interventions. This is a very rigorous trial with oversight from ethicists, regulators and many other governing bodies.”

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Statistics indicate that overdoses are the leading cause of death in children and adults under the age of 50 in the United States.

“More than half of patients relapse. We need to find solutions because this is a life-threatening situation that is affecting family and loved ones,” says Rezaei.

West Virginia has the highest drug overdose death rate in the United States. According to the National Institute for Combating Drug Abuse, in 2017 year, 100 000 people accounted for 49,6 such deaths.

The Royal Society of Great Britain has warned of the ethical dangers of merging cars and people and is particularly concerned about the plans of technology companies such as Facebook and Neuralink Elon Musk, who announced research on the development of commercial products.

Neuralink is currently conducting human trials in the US with electrodes inserted into the brains of patients with paralysis. And Facebook supports research aimed at creating a headset that can transcribe words at 100 words per minute.

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Dr. Rezai is skeptical of involving consumer technology firms in this area.

“I think this is very good for science and we need more projects to advance the field and learn more about the brain. But not for the sake of improving people, and this is very important. This is not consumer technology,” he said. “When it comes to applications, it should be strictly regulated. It's not like getting a flu shot or getting a tattoo. Surgery carries risks and is not a trivial process.”

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