News Plastic chip in brain ‘stops epileptic fits’
A tiny flexible electronic chip planted in the brain could help prevent epileptic fits.
University of Cambridge experts say their device detects an “electric storm” as a seizure starts – then releases natural chemical GABA to stop it.
The chip – made from plastic and twice as thick as a human hair – was tested on mice. It will be scaled up in size for humans.
Around 600,000 people in Britain suffer from epilepsy.
Drugs currently available don’t help three in ten sufferers.
Expert Professor Ley Sander said: “What’s interesting is the implant delivers a drug straight to the source of the seizure.”