UK's first patient to trial Parkinson's implant says it is life-changing
The technology was switched on in January as part of a trial at Southmead Hospital.The implant has technology inside which can work out when Mr Morgan's symptoms are about to show and suppress them.He told BBC Radio Bristol it is "like not having Parkinson's" any more.
'I can enjoy my hobbies again'
"They switch it on and they have you walk up and down the corridor, and you can feel the difference. You feel balanced," he said.The device sends a small electrical signal to the tip of the wires into the brain, and that electricity changes the brainwaves.Mr Morgan said it is "constantly reading the brainwaves" and "it's like having a mini computer in my body".He said: "My right arm wouldn't swing before but it does now. It's been life-changing. "One of my hobbies is fly-fishing and standing in rivers, silly things like that. I can do that now."
Mihaela Boca, a consultant neurologist at Southmead Hospital, said the device is "a bit like having a pacemaker in the brain rather than the heart"."By having this electricity delivered into the brain, you're essentially getting your [condition] treated without having medication," she said."We are now in the future, as it were."More than 150,000 people are thought to be living with the disease which impacts mobility, speech, focus, sleep and independence.The number is expected to increase due to population growth and ageing.ADBS treatment is expected to be rolled out this year.
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Scottish Sun
2 days ago
- Scottish Sun
Disturbing link between Parkinson's disease and living beside a golf club revealed by new study
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Scottish Sun
2 days ago
- Scottish Sun
Common cough medicine could help protect against a form of dementia, new study finds
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Daily Mirror
4 days ago
- Daily Mirror
Furious Covid-19 bereaved demand justice for care homes ‘disgrace'
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I think sometimes he thought he was the problem, not the pandemic, and that everyone was wearing masks because of him. 'I'm an only child and I was all he had but at that point there were no more visits. I was really upset about that because I just felt he needed me. He didn't take long then he died. I did wonder if he just gave up because I wasn't allowed in. You just get swamped by grief.' The Mirror revealed in November 2021 that gatherings had taken place in Downing Street when London was under tier 3 restrictions during 2020. They included a number of leaving parties and a Christmas party on December 18. Louise Baker, from Aberdeen, told the Mirror her father Sandy Adam died at his care home two days before the infamous Christmas party. Louise, 49, said: 'Before lockdown dad would come round our house every Sunday for dinner. He had dementia but it wasn't that far progressed that he didn't know who we were. 'After lockdown none of it made sense to him. Initially we could just shout in through a small gap in his tilt window but he was very hard of hearing. We couldn't hug him. I was extremely angry because we found out one of those parties in Downing Street coincided with my dad's death. I'm absolutely furious.' Sandy, a retired dentist, had been allowed a meeting on the car park with Louise before his death at the age of 81 but they were not allowed within five metres of each other. She explained: 'It was so difficult because he felt the cold quite acutely and he was really grumpy. You weren't allowed to hug and like to do anything normal and he couldn't hear us. He just sat there with his arms folded.' Sharon and Louise's accounts will be played today in an impact film at the start of Module 6 in front of inquiry chair Baroness Heather Hallett. Louise added: 'In the next pandemic there has to be a balance struck between the protection of the both people who are vulnerable to infections and their right to dignity and the right to human contact and their right to family life. I'm not pretending I have any of these answers but we need to find a balance. "There needs to be a recognition of the damage being done by the deprivation that people were experiencing, that level of isolation and the removal of basic rites of passage, like being able to see your loved one's body in their coffin.' Among the key government decisions being discussed at the inquiry from this week will be that in March 2020 to rapidly discharge hospital patients into care homes without testing or a requirement for them to isolate. A 2022 High Court judgement that ruled the policy was unlawful as it failed to take into account the risk to elderly and vulnerable care home residents of asymptomatic transmission of the virus. Between early March and early June 2020, nearly 20,000 care home residents in England and Wales died with Covid-19. That's about a third of all care home deaths during that period. Many bereaved care home families, including Sharon Cook, say their loved ones had Do Not Resuscitate - so called DNRs - placed on them against their wishes. Sharon said politicians should be held to account for their handling of the pandemic and subject to criminal proceedings if found to be negligent. She said: 'There needs to be greater accountability. I often say that if it was a pilot that had acted so recklessly and cost people their lives unnecessarily, or if it was a surgeon, there wouldn't be any question about, they would be interrogated and summoned to court. So why are politicians any different? 'It's not right that people with this much power can treat it with such little respect, have such devastating outcomes and no consequences.' Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice UK has written an open letter to the inquiry chair Baroness Hallett objecting to the fact that ex-PM Boris Johnson will not appear before the latest module about the social care sector. Jean Adamson, a spokesperson for Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice UK, said: 'Bereaved families have waited years for this moment. The care module is one of the most important parts of the Inquiry. It will examine how and why thousands of people were left unprotected in care homes and in the community, and why so many died without support, without dignity, and without accountability. 'But we are seriously concerned about the way this module is being handled. It is unacceptable that Boris Johnson and other key decision-makers will not be called to give evidence.' A Lancet study later found that during the first wave of the pandemic care homes residents were 17 times more likely to die compared to private home residents of a similar age. This compared to a ten times higher risk before the pandemic, as people in residential care are generally more frail and unwell. Covid bereaved families are expected to gather outside the opening of Module 6 of the inquiry today. The £200 million inquiry was set up to examine the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the UK's response to it and to learn lessons for the next pandemic. Its latest module on the social care sector will take place at Dorland House in Paddington, west London. Ben Connah, Secretary at the UK Covid-19 Inquiry, said: 'Sharon and Louise's stories are so powerful. Sadly, their experiences are not unique. Tens of thousands of people living in care lost their lives to Covid during the pandemic. 'This is why it is so important that the UK Covid-19 Inquiry spends the next five weeks investigating how the virus affected the care sector. Questions will be asked in public of key politicians, scientists, healthcare professionals and other experts. Our Chair, Baroness Heather Hallett, will get answers. 'We will begin with powerful evidence from bereaved individuals. Their experiences are front and centre of our hearings this week. 'The inquiry is making speedy progress. The country must learn the lessons of the last pandemic as quickly as possible - because we all know there will be another one.' This week the inquiry will investigate the impact of the pandemic on the publicly and privately funded adult social care sector in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. It will start with opening statements from core participants and impact evidence from bereaved individuals before an appearance from former Health Secretary Matt Hancock on Wednesday.
