Denise Bacon, a 65-year-old retired speech therapist from East Sussex with Parkinson’s disease, played clarinet during four-hour brain surgery and experienced instant improvement in her finger movements as electrical current reached her brain. She had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2014 and had to stop playing in the East Grinstead Concert Band five years ago when the disease affected her ability to walk, swim, dance, and play her beloved instrument. Professor Keyoumars Ashkan performed deep brain stimulation at King’s College Hospital, making holes half the size of a five pence piece in her skull after placing a frame on her head that acted like a sat nav to guide electrodes to precise positions. Ms Bacon stayed awake with only local anaesthetic to numb her scalp and skull, allowing doctors to see results in real time.
The moment stimulation was delivered, her right hand moved with much more ease and she could play the clarinet again, something that delighted both her and the surgical team. Deep brain stimulation uses electrodes implanted in the brain and is suitable for some patients with disorders like Parkinson’s, though not everyone qualifies for the procedure. Ms Bacon says she’s already experiencing improvements in her ability to walk and is keen to get back in the swimming pool and on the dance floor to see if those abilities have improved too. Professor Ashkan said they were delighted to see the instant improvement in her hand movements and her ability to play once the brain stimulation began working.
