Recently, a US woman received a brain implant to treat her OCD and Epilepsy condition. The patient expressed happiness as this treatment effectively relieves the symptoms of both concerns.
Amber Pearson a 34-year-old American woman was suffering from debilitating Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and epileptic seizures. Due to her OCD condition, she used to wash her hands until they bled. She was startled by the idea of contamination of everyday things. She underwent the brain in plant treatment at Oregon Health and Science University in Portland. The brain implant device measures 32 millimeters (about an inch) in length. The chip is known as a responsive neurostimulation system and it was initially used to treat Pearson’s epilepsy condition. This kind of brain implant works by delivering a pulse that disrupts brain activity patterns that are associated with seizures.
Brain implants are not a new idea, it was known to doctors that a specifically applied electrical stimulation can affect the way the brain operates. These are used in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease and other conditions that affect movement.
Pearson’s neurosurgeon, Dr. Ahmed Raslan performed the procedure at Oregon Health and Science University in Portland on the West Coast. He said that it was Pearson’s idea to say "You're going into my brain and setting this wire, and I have OCD (Obsessive-compulsive disorder), so can you just put a wire for OCD?". He stated that they took her suggestion seriously.
The doctors started working with Pearson. They used techniques that involved exposing her stressors. In this case, it was seafood and recording the electrical markers. Based on the understanding they were able to program the device to identify and disrupt these signals. This dual-program device now supervises the brain activity associated with both epilepsy and OCD conditions.
The neurosurgeon says that it is the only device in the whole world that treats two conditions. And it's programmed independently. So the program for epilepsy is distinct from the program for OCD.
After the implantation of the device in 2019, Pearson waited 8 months to get noticeable results. At her final follow-up two and half years later, she spoke to doctors and said that the RNS (Responsive Neurostimulation) had changed her life.
Pearson expressed, "I'm actually present in my daily life and that's incredible. Before I was just constantly in my head bothered about my compulsions." Her consuming rituals have taken up to 8 or 9 hours every day since her teenage years began.
She said that she was happy again and excited to go out and live and be with her friends and her family.
(Input from various sources)
(Rehash/Lavanya Beeraboina/MSM)
