The long way for Gifford to become Congressman aga...

Negotiating compromise, debating against opponent, raising money is the hard job for Congressman. The Congress demand is very heavy to everyone. Especially to someone who recovers from gunshot to the head, Gabrielle Gifford. After 10 month of her injury, he shows in an interview. Although he has difficulty to say the word she want to, the brain specialist said that she will continue to improve. Although we can say for how long she will recover from the injury.

In the operation, Gabrielle Gifford brain wire was reconnected, making new connection to replace the broken one. But in history there is no one has recovered from severe brain damage. If one can recover it never be the same performance like the old one. The stress also becomes point. Little Stress can make human motivated, but a big stress will neurons killed. The interview with ABC was the first chance to public to know about Gifford directly. It was a chance for someone to see miraculous recovery from someone which been shot in January 8. In the interview she was appear determined and confident. But she may find it difficult to say multiple word conversations. She said through her husband that she wouldn’t return to the congress until her condition better. The deadline to run for election is May 30. So she must wait and continue to improve, because she said she want to go back to work.

The brain specialist said that recovery from brain injury is most dramatic in the first 6 month. It appear when Gabrielle Gifford in the interview, she was said “spoon” instead of “chair” that she wanted to say. In the 6 month the brain will be reorganized themselves, this is spontaneous improvement. The recovery can continue for two years although more slowly, the changes is more noticeable to the people rarely she met. But with Gifford personality, she will have an advantage for her recovery.

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Deep Brain Stimulation

Deep Brain Stimulation: No More Tremors

Imagine if we have tremor. We will not being able to write properly again because our hands are shaking for no reason. Tremor is fluctuating movements in body such as in the hand or arm, so the person cannot hold glasses, pens or anything that requires smooth motion. In patients with Parkinson’s, this situation occurs, in which repetitive movements are performed consciously. So what should be done on this disorder? Generally, patients are given drugs to reduce the tremors. Today medical science advances especially in the field of neurosurgery have been able to perform surgery technique called deep brain stimulation (DBS). It is performed if a medical therapy by using drugs is not effective again.

DBS was found in 1987, which was first performed by using high-frequency stimulation on the thalamus of patients with Parkinson’s disease. Thalamus is the brain that is located symmetrically in the middle. Thalamus itself has some very important functions such as translating incoming information, processing and transmitting sensory signals selectively that contain information and then emitted into the cortex cerebral (outside brain tissue) to be stored as memory to set the state of sleep and wake up.
In other words the damage on the thalamus may also cause a coma. Neural network of the cerebellum (small brain) which serves to smooth the movement also has to go through the thalamus. For this reason the thalamus becomes a target for repairing patients with Parkinson’s tremor.
Since the technique is proven to be very effective to reduce or even eliminate the tremor, the Parkinson’s patients with essential tremor can be cured. Thalamus stimulation using electrodes is better than thalamotomy action (cutting the thalamus). Thalamotomy may be considered for patients with bilateral tremor. However, this action has side effects that may occur, for example: paresthesia, dysarthria, and disequilibrium that can actually be suppressed by adjusting the parameters of stimulation electrodes.

Deep Brain Stimulation operation is usually conducted for about 3 hours with the conscious condition of a patient because he or she just gives a local anesthetic. Before DBS surgery, patients performs a brain scanning using MRI first (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) and skull x-rays to determine the position of the thalamus. MRI data are then stored in the computer as a guide during surgery. The results of x-ray examination used to calculate the tilt angle and depth of the thalamus. In order to obtain the depth electrodes accuracy, it is measured in millimeters. This is done because any shift of the electrodes in the thalamus will give different effects, although only a few millimeters. Furthermore, these electrodes
will be planted permanently in the thalamus as a power source that will continue to emit the frequency of required batteries mounted outside the brain. Electrodes are placed under the skin and connected to a generator and battery that are implanted in the patient’s chest. Now, Parkinson’s patients have a new hope to regain their good quality of life by performing deep brain stimulation.