Thaindian News

London, Jan 25 (THAINDIAN NEWS) Scientists in Britain have made a major breakthrough when they successfully used deep brain simulation to treat refractory hypertension.

The breakthrough is most significant because doctors have been struggling to manage the condition which is considered very difficult. The breakthrough was published in the journal, Neurology.

Doctors in Britain successfully used the technique to treat a 55-year-old man who had suffered an ischemic stroke. When he was rushed to the emergency room, doctors realized that his blood pressure kept fluctuating between 153/89 mm Hg to 265/96 mm Hg. After the doctors managed to treat the man’s stroke, they realized that he had developed a severe left-sided central pain syndrome.

After unsuccessfully trying to treat the condition, the man was taken to Patel’s neurosurgery center. The doctors used the deep brain stimulation to treat the pain. However after the treatment, they realized that the man’s hypertension has been treated as well.

The revelation got the doctors to write that, “The present data and those of others indicate that manipulating the autonomic nervous system is a powerful approach for chronic control of hypertension in humans…[deep brain simulation] provides an opportunity to elucidate central mechanisms controlling blood pressure in patients with refractory hypertension.”