The Parkinson's implant "boosts the ability to walk" while a new treatment restores motion to patients

State-of-the-art treatment, capable of significantly restoring movement in people with Parkinson's disease, has been hailed as "beyond the wildest dreams" of its researchers.

Patients previously left behind are now walking freely after receiving electrical stimulation to their spine.

An implant has been developed to amplify the signals sent from the brain to the limbs and vice versa. This allows the patient to walk normally, it is said.

A quarter of patients with Parkinson's have difficulty walking while the disease begins to wreak havoc. Some begin to freeze on the spot and even fall.

Patients were able to regain some of their independence after treatment, which allowed them to walk again

But the pioneering Canadian researchers behind this technique said that improving the quality of life of patients was immeasurable.

Professor Mandar Jog of Western University in London, Ontario, said the results were "beyond his wildest dreams". Addressing to the BBC, he said: "Most of our patients have been living with the disease for 15 years and have not been walking with confidence for several years."

He added: "For me, it is remarkable to be able to leave home, with the risk of falling, to go to the mall and take a vacation."

Gail Jardine, 66, said her quality of life has improved since the implant was installed two months ago. Mrs. Jardine had previously frozen on the spot and dropped two or three times a day. The loss of confidence that followed prevented her from taking walks to the countryside in Kitchener, Ontario, with her husband, Stan.

But now she can walk freely for the first time in over two years. She said, "I can walk a lot better. I have not fallen since the start of treatment.

Parkinson's disease: 3D illustration showing Lewy body neurons, small red spheres that are accumulated protein deposits in brain cells responsible for their progressive degeneration

"It gave me more confidence and I can not wait to go on more walks with Stan and maybe even do it alone." To walk, the brain and the legs must send signals in a loop. First, the brain tells the legs to move. It then receives the signals when a step is made and in turn sends instructions for the next step.

And Professor Jog now thinks that Parkinson's disease limits the signals that come back to the brain – as opposed to those from the brain – which causes the loop to break and patients freeze.

He believes that the electricity produced by the implant awakens the mechanism of feedback from the legs to the brain – which is diminished by the disease. He said, "It's a completely different rehab therapy. We had thought that movement problems occurred in patients with Parkinson's because the signals from the brain to the legs did not pbad.

"But it seems to be the degraded signals coming back to the brain."

Dr. Beckie Port, charity Parkinson's UK, said: "If future studies show the same promise, it could significantly improve the quality of life, giving people with Parkinson's disease the freedom to practice. their daily activities.