November 29, 2004

Electricity may help stroke victims

Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS), a non-invasive procedure of sending tightly focused magnetic pulses into the brain, is highlighted as a revolutionary technique that may significantly help stroke victims. \"A lot of us believe that this is really going to be a turning point in intervention in neuroscience,\" says Dr. Randall Benson of Wayne State University and the Detroit Medical Center. While doctors have already shown that implanting electrodes in the brain to deliver stimulation can help control tremors, he said, rTMS offers a way to stimulate brain circuits without surgery. Benson is just starting a study of using the magnetic stimulation to improve stroke-related language impairment.

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