美國之音2007標準下半年ADeep Brain Stimulation Used For Traumatic Inju

Deep Brain Stimulation Used For Traumatic Injury

By Melinda Smith
Washington
07 August 2007

Surgeons at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio revealed they had performed an experimental procedure called Deep Brain Stimulation on a man who had been severely injured in an assault.

For six years he had been in a minimally conscious state. Minimally conscious patients can show arousal and awareness of surroundings. Imaging showed portions of this patient's brain were still intact.

Dr. Ali Rezai of the Cleveland Clinic inserted a pacemaker in a section of the man's brain, called the thalamus. Two days later, the pacemaker was turned on and began sending electrical signals in the first test of Deep Brain Stimulation.

"The language of the brain is electricity. So by using electrical signals, we're activating the brain using its own language."

Over a period of months, the patient became more responsive and regained the ability to chew, swallow food and speak. While the family wishes to be anonymous, the mother says the results have been like a miracle. "My son can now eat. He can cry and he can laugh. I still cry every time I see my son, but it's tears of joy."

Traumatic brain injury can occur during a car crash, a fall or an act of violence. It is the leading cause of death and disability worldwide. It accounts for a large percentage of casualties among U.S. soldiers in Iraq and Iraqi citizens.

Doctors say Deep Brain Stimulation will not work for all patients with brain damage. But they also say it does offer some hope for families still searching for a way to reconnect with their loves ones.

腦深部刺激可治療外傷傷害

美國俄亥俄州克利夫蘭診所的外科醫(yī)生透漏他們做了一項試驗，這項試驗被稱為在襲擊中嚴重受傷的人的深部腦刺激。

六年了，他一直處于最低程度地有意識狀態(tài)。最低程度有意識的病人可以感覺到周圍事物。意像表示這些病人中的一部分人的大腦仍是完好的。

克利夫蘭診所的醫(yī)生，Ali Rezai 在一人的大腦中插入起搏器成為丘腦。兩天之后，起搏器開始啟動并在首次深部腦刺激測驗中發(fā)出電子信號。

大腦發(fā)出的語言就是電流。所以通過電子信號我們可以使大腦通過應用自己的語言而活躍起來。

幾個月過后，病人開始變得更加有反映，并可以咀嚼，吞咽食物和說話。但是親屬是匿名的，母親說這種結果真是個奇跡。“我兒子可以吃東西了，他可以哭泣和微笑。每次看見兒子都哭，但那是幸福的眼淚。”

大腦外傷傷害常常發(fā)生在汽車事故中，跌傷，和暴力行為中。這是造成世界上死亡和傷殘的主要原因。這說明戰(zhàn)死在伊拉克的美國士兵和伊拉克居民占很大比例。

醫(yī)生說深部腦刺激不是對所有大腦受傷的病人都起作用。但是他們也表示它確實給予正在尋求自己所愛的家庭一些希望。