Implant may help with swallowing, tremor in MS

A team of doctors in Italy have reported that an electrical implant device has significantly improved swallowing ability and reduced head/neck tremor in three of their MS patients. These patients (all men), had EDSS scores of 8.5, were confined to wheelchairs, had severe tremor and could not eat unaided due to swallowing difficulties (dysphagia).

They were implanted with vagus nerve stimulators, devices made by a company called Cyberonics. These devices are implanted in the upper chest and neck, and send pulses to the vagus nerve in the left side of the neck. Each of the men had significant improvements in tremor (average of 67% improvement) and swallowing (65% improvement for water intake and 78% for swallowing power). These improvements were established after 2-3 months and persisted throughout the 26-month observation period. No serious side effects were seen. Although this was a small study, it demonstrates the potential benefit of this technique in treating two very disabling and harmful symptoms.