A RESEARCHER at the University of Southampton has been awarded a grant from The Parkinson’s Disease Society to investigate the degenerative disease of the nervous system.
Dr Geert Verheyden has been awarded £34,000 to look at whether non-invasive brain stimulation can help people with Parkinson’s walk and turn.
He will test out a new way of stimulating the brain without drugs or surgery called “transcranial direct current stimulation”. This involves placing two small electrodes on the scalps of 20 people with Parkinson’s Disease and passing an electric current to stimulate specific nerve cells. The team will look for any resulting improvement.
Dr Kieran Breen, director of research and development at the Parkinson’s Disease Society, said: “This is only a small study but it could give us enough information to know whether this is a new treatment worth pursuing.”
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