sciencetech-blog

comments

The effects of multiple sclerosis could be relieved by sending electric pulses through a patient's mouth.

The tongue is directly connected to the brain stem, and scientists are now investigating how stimulating the muscle could improve the rehabilitation of people with MS.

During one experiment, impulses were applied to the patients' tongues, and over the course of 14 weeks, their balance improved meaning they were able to walk more easily.

Electric shocks applied to the tongue (stock image pictured) could help treat the effects of multiple sclerosis (MS), allowing people with the disease to walk more easily

MS is a neurological condition that affects around 100,000 people in the UK.

The disease causes the insulation around nerves to become damaged, which disrupts communication between the body and brain, resulting in loss of muscle control. 

A team from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, led by neuroscientist Yuri Danilov, applied the electrical impulses to the tongue as part of physical therapy sessions, for the 14-week duration of the trial, Scientific American reported. 

They discovered that their patients gained twice as much balance and fluidity of movement compared to people with MS who did the same physical therapy exercises without the new treatment. 

MS is a neurological condition that affects around 100,000 people in the UK. The disease causes the insulation around nerves to become damaged (illustrated), which disrupts communication between the body and brain, resulting in loss of muscle control

Dr Danilov explained in the Journal of Neuro-Engineering and Rehabilitation that nerves on the tip of the tongue are connected to the brain's stem, which is a hub responsible for lots of the body's basic processes.

It's a good place to apply tiny electric shocks because saliva is an electrically conductive fluid, and stimulation can be applied at a much lower voltage than is required for skin.

Dr Danilov said: 'We have probably discovered a new way for the neurorehabilitation of many neurological disorders.'

The team is also exploring whether tongue stimulation can be used to treat patients who are losing their sight, have had a stroke or suffer from Parkinson's.

In a previous study, experts enabled a blind woman to see a flickering candle for the first time - via her tongue.

Researchers developed a tongue-stimulating system that translated images detected by a camera into a pattern of electric pulses that triggered touch receptors.

The woman could perceive the simulation as shapes and features in space, so that the tongue became a surrogate eye.