The Neurological Maverick

Throughout clinical trials and studies, Dr. Rezai and his team had the opportunity to examine the efficacy of DBS but also revealed the interdisciplinary nature of his work, with the involvement of neurosurgery, neurology, and technology, to challenge and alter the boundaries set before him in neuroscience. Dr. Rezai knew that his dedication would break the barriers that challenge medical innovations, and by promising an unconditional commitment to advancement in technology and DBS, he revealed possibilities and alternative routes to address the impossible, whether it was Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, depression, or opioid addiction. 

Dr. Rezai was able to improve reality by structuring the stimulation as a therapeutic strategy, ensuring that the implantation of the electrodes used to modulate brain activity would have a fundamental impact on all patients. His clinical trial tested the safety, conditions, and efficacy of DBS in Alzheimer’s through DBS, a transformative change in patients’ cognitive function. 

His trial resulted in slow progression of the disease, but most importantly, introduced a new and improved era for scientific research on Alzheimer’s. His public advocacy urged the medical community to pursue effective and alternative treatments, enforcing a decrease and change in the global burden of neurological conditions. In the field of medicine addressing neurodegenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer’s, traditional treatments have only managed the symptoms (cognitive decline and memory loss) rather than addressing and attacking the underlying causes. Dr. Ali Rezai was able to recognize the lack of traditional methods, and his success in his research began by revealing the necessity of alternative and innovative approaches to combat such destructive conditions. Alongside Dr. Rezai’s groundbreaking research in Alzheimer’s, he has also taken the initiative to address addiction through his use of a brain pacemaker. Understanding the severity and struggle of substance abuse, Dr. Rezai expresses, “addiction is complex, there are a range of social dynamics at play and genetic elements and some individuals will have a lack of access to treatments so their brains will slowly change and they will have more cravings.” (Dr. Ali Rezai, BBC). With this said, those who resort to such treatment are individuals who have exhausted all other interventions. 

His fundamental understanding and dedication to address another form of neurological condition allowed him, alongside approval from the US, to create the first trial addressing opioid addiction with brain implants. His patient, Geord Buckhalter, successfully demonstrated his lifelong commitment to addiction. Although DBS has been FDAapproved for Parkinson’s disease and obsessive-compulsive disorder, this trial marks the first time it is being used to address drug addiction for substance abusers that deemed conventional treatments as unsuccessful. Geord Buckhalter, an individual who suffered from decade-long substance abuse, was one of the first to undergo the surgery for the brain implant at WVU (West Virginia University) Medical Hospital. During an interview with Sharyn Alfonsi, Buckhalter revealed his desperation as well as his thought process through his journey toward ending opioid addiction, expressing how he, “Just felt better. You know, just felt like I did prior to ever using drugs, but a little bit better.

And it was at that point that I knew that I was gonna have a legitimate shot at doing well.” (Buckhalter, CBSNews). The operation begins with the insertion of a 1 mm electrode into the part of the brain that focuses on regulating impulses, in this case, addiction and other types of self-control. Within the span of two years, Mr. Buckhalter and the other three volunteers were closely monitored to examine the success of the implanted device in reducing their cravings. With the introduction and continuation of such a new trial, the medical community, through the treatment plan generated by Dr. Rezai, discovers an alternative method of DBS and its correlation with advanced technology (being used responsibility) and ethical standards. In alarming regions such as West Virginia, which suffer from extensive overdose rates and an opioid crisis, using the brain implant as an alternative method to address severe opioid addiction not only spreads awareness but also results in fundamental medical interventions. With the assistance of ethicists, regulators, and psychologists, the collaborative effort of the careful approach is what results in the success of addressing the complexities of addiction, giving individuals hope for a new treatment that could actually benefit them.