Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge and King’s College Hospital in London are set to pilot an advanced technique using brain implants to treat severe alcohol and opioid addiction.
The technique, known as deep brain stimulation (DBS), involves implanting electrodes in the brain to modulate activity, reduce cravings, and enhance self-control.
The study, dubbed Brain-PACER: Brain Pacemaker Addiction Control to End Relapse, is currently recruiting participants with severe addiction, interested in the new treatment.
It is a collaboration between the University of Cambridge, King’s College London, and the University of Oxford, to assess DBS’s effects on alcohol and opioid addiction.
The research is supported by the Medical Research Council and UK Research & Innovation.
University of Cambridge clinical lecturer and Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust honorary consultant neurosurgeon Harry Bulstrode said: “We see first-hand how deep brain stimulation surgery can be life-changing for patients with movement disorders such as Parkinson’s disease and essential tremor.
“Thanks to this trial, I am now hopeful that we can help patients and their families – who have often struggled for years – by targeting the parts of the brain linked to addiction.”
King’s College Hospital professor of neurosurgery and the study lead surgeon Keyoumars Ashkan said: “Deep brain stimulation is a powerful surgical technique that can transform lives.
“It will be a major leap forward if we can show efficacy in this very difficult disease with huge burden to the patients and society.”
DBS is a neurosurgical procedure that provides continuous brain stimulation and is commonly used for neurological disorders and obsessive-compulsive disorder.
The procedure involves implanting a small electrode in the brain and a pacemaker under general anaesthesia, to normalise abnormal brain activity.
The electrodes deliver electrical impulses to modulate neural activity, alleviating symptoms of various neurological and psychiatric disorders.
For addiction, electrodes are placed in specific areas of the brain that are associated with reward, motivation, and decision-making.
Previous studies validated DBS’s efficacy in treating addictions, but Brain-PACER is the first major multicentre study to specifically target craving and relapse in severe addiction cases.
The study aims to develop effective addiction treatments and understand the brain mechanisms driving addiction disorders.
The study chief investigator professor Valerie Voon said: “While many people who experience alcohol or drug addiction can, with the right support, control their impulses, for some people, their addiction is so severe that no treatments are effective.
“Initial evidence suggests that deep brain stimulation may be able to help these individuals manage their conditions.
“We’ve seen how effective it can be for other neurological disorders from Parkinson’s to OCD to depression. We want to see if it can also transform the lives of people with intractable alcohol and opioid addiction.”
