Posted on 11/27/2019 6:51:49 PM PST by BenLurkin
For Parkinson’s patients, deep brain stimulation (DBS) can help control a number of neurological symptoms, like muscle spasms and stiffness. But one weird side effect has surfaced in a string of case studies: Some patients, no matter how good their motor skills, lose their ability to swim after the procedure.
Researchers from the University of Zürich in Switzerland published a report today in Neurology identifying nine cases where patients couldn’t stay afloat after DBS. And these people weren’t water-shy, first time doggie paddlers — two of the cases involved former competitive swimmers.
And, researchers report, the entire cohort had had no trouble swimming even after their Parkinson’s diagnosis. Rather, it seems that the invasive procedure — which involves implanting electrodes around the brain and heart to intercept erratic electrical signals — is what triggered the patients’ lack of buoyancy.
Christian Baumann, a neurologist at the University of Zürich, said the research team garnered interest in the topic after they learned one of their DBS patients had jumped into a lake and almost drowned.
After the patient's brush with death, the doctors began asking others with DBS devices about their swimming abilities.
Three of the nine patients, they learned, had turned off their deep brain devices and immediately were able to swim.
This isn't the first time researchers have observed this odd connection. In 2015, four similar case studies spanning two decades were reported by researchers in Australia. Three of those patients drowned after suddenly losing their swimming ability after DBS.
(Excerpt) Read more at discovermagazine.com ...
Interesting. Thanks for posting.
Thanks BenLurkin. "Doc, will I be able to play the violin after this series of treatments?" "Yes, of course." "Great! I was never able to play it before."
There is so much about what makes humans function that remains unknown or barely known.
Did you know we have three brains; Head, Heart & Gut.
*Head brain analyzes info and applies logic.
* Heart brain senses the world through emotion and feelings.
* Gut brain is used to understand our identity, and who we are in the world. The Gut brain helps us learn self preservation by teaching us to follow our instinct. ie.
“Gut feelings”.
My reference: Karen Jensen ND. posted 2017.
An oldie but a goodie.
In the same sense, God gave man a Brain and a Penis, but only enough blood flow to operate one of the two parts at a time.
Yep. As a younger man, there were times when I didn’t know whether I was coming or going, so to speak.
But can they still play the piano?
The excerpt is unclear. Can they not float anymore - or can they not swim anymore?
About 10 years ago, a neurologist in Holland discovered that about 20% of his Parkinson patients with severe walking impairments could still ride a bike around a jogging track.
Those patients did need assistance mounting, dismounting, and stopping the bike, but once they got some speed up, they could maintain their balance indefinitely.
Inquiring minds want to know...WHY?
We are one consciousness or soul that interfaces with the physical body it manifests at various locations.
I perform consciousness research on a daily basis. This most likely relates to masculine left brain vs feminine right brain function.
Similar to what causes car sickness if a person sits in a back seat but not in front. Or sea sickness, the cure which is focus on the horizon.
Masculine consciousness is linear while feminine is non linear.
A ballerina doing pirouette across a stage will get dizzy and fall over without a linear focal point.
This is also the pattern of consciousness that causes teenage and mid life depression.
Very poorly written article as it does not mention where the brain was stimulated.
“Rather, it seems that the invasive procedure — which involves implanting electrodes around the brain and heart to intercept erratic electrical signals —”
I highly doubt these were “invasive” procedures on the deep brain..
A medical procedure is defined as non-invasive when no break in the skin is created and there is no contact with the mucosa, or skin break, or internal body cavity beyond a natural or artificial body orifice.
I stand corrected.
Deep brain stimulation involves creating small holes in the skull to implant the electrodes, and surgery to implant the device that contains the batteries under the skin in the chest.
This type of stimulation is not the same as TMS or Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation. It is similar to a pacemaker stimulation.
I can’t post pictures from my cell, but here is a link with an excellent graphic illustration on the procedure.
https://www.webmd.com/parkinsons-disease/guide/dbs-parkinsons
The brain part stimulated is the thalamus which is the brain priority processing or focus control center. This is the same brain area that is malfunctioning in autism.
They are deep brain. The stimulators are placed around the muscle control centers in the brain. I did anesthesia for the brain implants. We started in the CT scanner with the patient having a “ring” device placed on there skull and held in place with screws going into the bone of the skull (not brain). They then had a hood with coordinates etched into hood attached to the “ring”. After the CT the neuro surgeon used the coordinates from the CT to figure out exactly where the implants would be place. A calibrated device was attached to the ring. This device allowed the surgeon to drill a precise hole into the skull and advance the electrode into the exact position required. The patient was awake for most of the procedure. A little more complex but that is the main part. It was about a 4 hour procedure.
Wow...sounds exciting.
I am amazed at the 3D images created on screens to guide precision brain surgery and probes. My brother-in-law is a radiologist and stays current on all the new technology. He was telling me about the new imaging techniques.
What amazes me is that the probe goes all the way to the thalamus. That means through the cingulate gyrus and corpus callosum. I would think that the cingulate gyrus would resolve the Parkinson’s symptoms as it is involved in processing emotions and behavior regulation and also helps to regulate autonomic motor function.
Brain stem work is very dangerous.
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