Brain patch that could help to silence tinnitus
http://www.dailymail...in_page_id=1774A patch placed under the scalp could be a new treatment for severe tinnitus.
The small patch provides electrical stimulation to the brain and is designed to reduce the ringing in the ears felt by the sufferer.
Researchers say it may have a lasting effect on symptoms.
Although tinnitus can be triggered by underlying problems, from earwax to high blood pressure, in most cases the cause is unknown.
It's estimated that up to a third of all adults experience tinnitus at some time, and that seven per cent of men and women will visit their GP with the problem. It can have a severe impact on quality of life.
Although there have been many treatments suggested and tried, including various herbs, distracting devices, anti-depressants and behaviour therapy, no cure has been found.
The treatment, which has just completed a pilot study in Minnesota in America, stimulates the area of the brain involved in sound, known as the auditory cortex, using low levels of electrical stimulation.
A stimulator device about the size of a pack of cards is implanted in a pocket created by the surgeon in the upper chest area. The electrical impulses it generates travel through a lead tunnelled under the skin to an electrode patch that has been surgically placed over the dura, the protective membrane that covers the brain's surface.
A handheld remote control device allows doctors and patients to turn the device on and off and adjust stimulation levels.
Results from the study with eight patients showed that all improved at the end of 12 weeks. Two patients experienced sustained reduction of tinnitus and six patients had short periods of total tinnitus suppression.
Two of the patients suffered from moderate to severe depression as a result of their condition; both improved to mild or minimal depression following the cortical stimulation. Most of the patients had periods where their tinnitus was alleviated, despite having had constant tinnitus for many years.
How it works is not clear and further studies are being planned, but other research shows that the same kind of stimulation above other areas of the brain can reduce the symptoms of depression. One theory is that the stimulation interferes with signals travelling between nerve cells in the auditory cortex.
"Many sufferers become frustrated by the lack of treatment options and are often told nothing can be done," says Dr Alan Levy, chief executive of device developers Northstar Neuroscience. "Electrical stimulation of the cortex may offer additional hope."
When the treatment could become more widely available is not yet known. Current treatments for tinnitus include:
• AMPLIFICATION: Hearing aids may provide some tinnitus sufferers with relief or easing of symptoms by amplifying speech and other sounds, taking the focus away from the tinnitus.
• MASKERS: These produce a masking sound more acceptable than the tinnitus.
• DRUG THERAPY: Medications that have provided relief for some patients include anti convulsants, anti-anxiety medications, tranquillisers and antihistamines.
• TINNITUS RETRAINING THERAPY: TRT is designed as a way to retrain the brain to ignore the tinnitus. It takes around a year or longer but has successfully provided relief to many sufferers.
• www.tinnitus.org.uk
Edited by Matt, 18 December 2007 - 03:49 PM.
