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Tourette syndrome: The life-changing device helping to stop tics

By · Published by Everything Blog

In short

The neurodevelopmental condition typically emerges during childhood and triggers repetitive, involuntary physical actions in affected individuals. To combat this, the University of Nottingham team engineered a compact wrist device that alters brain activity via electrical stimulation. The technology functions immediately upon activation, providing rapid relief to active patients like 15-year-old Ollie from Cheshire, who has suffered from involuntary neck movements for nearly two years.

Key points

  • Stimulating the median nerve with electrical pulses successfully alters activity in brain…: Stimulating the median nerve with electrical pulses successfully alters activity in brain regions responsible for movement control.
  • Clinical trials confirm that the wearable device works immediately to suppress involuntar…: Clinical trials confirm that the wearable device works immediately to suppress involuntary physical movements caused by the condition.
  • Tourette syndrome typically begins in childhood and causes involuntary physical tics that…: Tourette syndrome typically begins in childhood and causes involuntary physical tics that this technology is designed to relieve.

Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1

A wrist device developed by researchers in the University of Nottingham is changing the lives of people with Tourette sydrome in an "instant".

The small device works by delivering electrical pulses to the median nerve at the wrist, which trials have shown can change the activity in the parts of the brain involved in movement control.

Tourette's syndrome is a neurodevelopmental condition with symptoms usually starting in childhood.

Among the users of this new device is 15-year-old Ollie, from Cheshire, who started making involuntary neck movements nearly two years ago.

The BBC's Navtej Johal has this report.

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