Washing her hands until they bled, checking that the window was closed, eating alone for fear of contamination: Amber Pearson’s entire life was governed by her OCD. But thanks to revolutionary brain implants, this ordeal is now just a bad memory.
The 34-year-old American is the first person to be fitted with a tiny plaster-sized device in the back of her brain, allowing her to reduce both her obsessive-compulsive disorder and her epileptic seizures.
A promising scientific innovation that has radically changed his existence.
“I’m really present in my daily life and it’s unbelievable,” the patient, who lives in Oregon, West, United States, explained to AFP. “Before, I was constantly stuck in my head, worrying about my obsessions.”
His very severe OCD can take up “eight to nine hours a day” and isolate him socially.
Before going to bed, she had to make sure that the doors and windows were closed, the gas was turned off and electrical appliances were unplugged.
Terrified at the thought of being contaminated, she bathed every time she changed her cat’s litter box. She washed her hands so often that when she flexed her fingers, the dry limbs bled. And she often preferred to eat in solitude rather than with family and friends.
From now on, her OCD takes about thirty minutes a day.
– electric impulse –
The 32-millimeter implant sends electrical pulses when it detects abnormal reactions in his brain to restore normal function.
This technique, known as deep brain stimulation, has been used to treat epilepsy for more than 30 years. But his interest in reducing OCD was still poorly understood and limited to experimental research.
Until an innovative intervention was performed on Ms. Pearson in 2019 by doctors at Oregon Health & Science University.
His implant is “a device for OCD and epilepsy, the only device in the world that treats (these) two diseases” at the same time, underlines neurosurgeon Ahmed Raslan, who is still amazed by his patient.
Because she was the one who suggested the idea to the medical team.
Although part of her brain had been removed, her persistent epilepsy had led to the young woman still suffering from violent seizures. One of them also suffered a cardiac arrest, prompting doctors to transplant him with an implant against the resistant disease.
She then told them, “You’re going to put electrodes in my brain and I have OCD, can you put one for OCD as well?” Dr. Raslan says. “Fortunately we took this suggestion seriously.”
To design the device, doctors observed her brain activity, for example by feeding her seafood, one of the foods that stress her. This allowed them to identify the “electrical markers” associated with this OCD.
– Hope –
The implant is programmed “so that it can only initiate stimulation when it detects this signal”, continues Dr Raslan. One program manages epilepsy, the other deals with OCD.
Amber Pearson waited eight months before noticing the first changes in her hellish rituals. Then, his life, completely turned upside down by high school, gradually became more and more normal.
“I’m happy and excited to get out again and be with my friends and family that I’ve been away from for years,” she says.
With four years of hindsight, the process was lauded in a scientific journal this winter. Dr. According to Raslan, a study is currently being conducted at the University of Pennsylvania to see how this technique can be applied to other patients.
A source of hope in the United States, where OCD affects about 2.5 million people.
In general, brain transplantation attracts more and more interest.
On Monday, Neuralink, a company co-founded by Elon Musk, announced that it had successfully performed its first brain transplant on a patient. The start-up says it wants to use it to allow humans to communicate with computers, but also aims to make paralyzed patients walk again or restore sight to the blind.
Published at 9:01 am on February 4, AFP
