USA: Researchers in Minnesota test a device called the Scrambler which "re-trains" the brain to alleviate chronic pain caused by chemotherapy treatment
Record ID:
644511
USA: Researchers in Minnesota test a device called the Scrambler which "re-trains" the brain to alleviate chronic pain caused by chemotherapy treatment
- Title: USA: Researchers in Minnesota test a device called the Scrambler which "re-trains" the brain to alleviate chronic pain caused by chemotherapy treatment
- Date: 30th September 2014
- Summary: ROCHESTER, MINNESOTA, UNITED STATES (RECENT) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) DR. CHARLES LOPRINZI, PROFESSOR OF BREAST CANCER RESEARCH, MAYO CLINIC, SAYING: "It's a major problem from a number of chemotherapy drugs, probably the most prominent problem we have these days. For some it limits the amount of chemotherapy we can give and for some that get the chemotherapy it gets better afterwards, but for some it stays there and can be a persistent problem for years. It's a major problem for them." KAREN SAFRANEK RECEIVING TREATMENT ELECTRODES CONNECTED TO SAFRANEK'S FEET AND LEGS TECHNICIAN ADJUSTING ELECTRICAL SIGNAL OUTPUT ON THE SCRAMBLER MORE OF TREATMENT (SOUNDBITE) (English) DR. CHARLES LOPRINZI, PROFESSOR OF BREAST CANCER RESEARCH, MAYO CLINIC, SAYING: "You put electrodes on those nerves and you give them different electrical signals and those different electrical signals kind of re-train the brain and say really this isn't pain." MORE OF TREATMENT
- Embargoed: 15th October 2014 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Usa
- Country: USA
- Topics: General,Health
- Reuters ID: LVAEWQXOF8S6APE193SAVIK8ZAY6
- Story Text: Researchers are testing a device that eliminates chronic pain in cancer patients. The 'Scrambler' interrupts signals between the brain and nerves to train the brain to stop sending pain signals by using a series of electrical signals delivered on the point of pain on the body.
Scientists have published there latest findings in the online Journal 'Support Care Cancer' last week where they found that the Scrambler effectively reduced chronic pain in patients suffering from peripheral neuropathy due to chemotherapy treatments by as much as 53 percent.
Karen Safranek participated a clinical trial at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota to test the effectiveness of the Scrambler.
Safranek was diagnosed with cancer thirteen years ago, on the morning of September 11th, 2001. After intensive chemotherapy treatment, she was declared cancer free. It was good news but while the cancer was gone, the treatment had triggered a severe case of peripheral neuropathy, a debilitating condition that causes chronic pain.
"On a scale of 1 to 10 it was like a 12. It was excruciating pain. Like my feet and legs were on fire and, it's so hard to describe, because they felt so painful and yet they were numb," she said.
Dr. Charles Loprinzi of the Mayo clinic says peripheral neuropathy occurs when the brain sends pain signals to damaged nerves in a constant cycle. He says it's a common side-effect of chemotherapy that's difficult to treat.
"It's a major problem from a number of chemotherapy drugs, probably the most prominent problem we have these days. For some it limits the amount of chemotherapy we can give and for some that get the chemotherapy it gets better afterwards, but for some it stays there and can be a persistent problem for years," said Loprinzi, a professor of breast cancer research.
That was the case for Karen Safranek. For her, the pain was so severe she could barely walk. The Scrambler, which resembles a large car battery, is designed break the pain cycle.
"You put electrodes on those nerves and you give them different electrical signals and those different electrical signals kind of re-train the brain and say really this isn't pain," said Loprinzi.
After her first treatment Karen says scrambler therapy started working. After four treatments, the pain she had endured for more than a decade was gone.
"It was so incredible that I hadn't felt pain free for so many years that I guess I didn't expect it to last. It's working right now but I don't know if it will be this way tomorrow," said Safranek.
It's been a year since her scrambler therapy and Karen says the pain has not returned.
Dr. Loprinzi says the Scrambler will not work for everyone, and that broader testing needs to be done, but eventually he says, it could be the key for many people, like Karen Safranek, to a life free of pain. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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