BusinessTN

Look out, Parkinson's disease and depression. Charles Blaha and his consortium of scientists are coming to get ya. The University of Memphis professor of psychology and director of experimental psychology is improving upon one of the only effective remedies for Parkinson's patients.

Here's how it's been done since 1997, when the method developed by Medtronic to reduce tremors in Parkinson's patients was approved by the FDA. A surgeon drills a dime-sized hole in the patient's skull and places an electrode into a certain area of the brain responsible for motor activity. Precision, as one might imagine, is key. Once the electrode is in place, attached to the battery in the patient's chest cavity, and everything is sewn back together, the surgery team flips the switch, sending a steady electric shock wave to the patient's brain. If the electrode is where it needs to be, the tremors are gone within 40 seconds. But the inexact nature of the procedure runs contrary to preferred medical norms—complications and injuries have occurred, and no one has been able to explain exactly why those electrodes work the way they do. And since the battery lasts only two years, once it dies, the chest cavity has to be opened up again.

The thought that uncontrolled electric shock to the brain would be considered a primary remedy for Parkinson's disease in the early 21st century is hard for men like Blaha to swallow. "It's a dumb system," he says of the technique.

Having spent 30 years in neuroscience, Blaha joined forces with Dr. Kendall Lee, who does up to 10 such surgeries a month at the Mayo Clinic. In 2004, the duo assembled a group of scientists to improve upon the "dumb system." Now being tested in pigs, their innovation includes chemical sensors incorporated into the electrode lead. The sensors can measure the effectiveness of deep brain stimulation, allowing the doctors to calibrate electric current for better results. "Previously, it was like heating the water, but you had no feedback to tell you how hot the water was," Blaha says. In addition, the stimulator will be able to be turned on and off, extending battery life up to 10 years—a welcome improvement, especially for elderly patients.

Withfinancing from Advanced Neuromodulation Systems of Texas, the consortium led by Blaha and Lee looks to change the industry of deep brain stimulation. (There are more than 30,000 implants of "dumb" stimulators out there.) What's more, they are finding that advanced brain stimulation can be used beyond the population of Parkinson's patients to treat more widespread ailments, such as depression.

"Putting a wire in somebody's brain does not sit
completely right with a layperson," Blaha acknowledges. But then he tells of a girl who swung her arms and legs uncontrollably, and a female patient on the verge of suicide, unable to get help from medication. "If you can help by throwing a switch," he says, "by God, I'm going to do it."