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Makes Stroke Recovery Possible
When someone has a traumatic brain injury or a stroke, the connections between the brain's motor cortex and the muscles can be damaged. This makes it hard to move muscles properly, leading to weakness or paralysis.
Pitt researcher Elvira Pirondini has found that deep brain stimulation can quickly improve arm and hand strength and function weakened by brain injury or stroke.
Pirondini’s lab is using a brain stimulation technique already widely used for treating conditions such as Parkinson’s disease. It involves a surgery to place tiny electrodes in specific brain areas to send electrical signals that help control abnormal brain activity.
They tested this on a patient with arm tremors and severe paralysis from a serious motor vehicle accident. When the stimulation was turned on, the patient's arm movement and strength got better right away, allowing the participant to reach, grasp and lift a cup more easily and smoothly.
Now, they’re working on helping stroke patients recover speech function, too.