Profs Benabid and DeLong received the Lasker~DeBakey Award
© 2014 EPFL
Alim Louis Benabid and Mahlon DeLong received the Lasker~DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award for the development of deep brain stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus, a surgical technique that reduces tremors and restores motor function in patients with advanced Parkinson's disease.
The 2014 Lasker~DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award honors two scientists who developed deep brain stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus, a surgical technique that reduces tremors and restores motor function in patients with advanced Parkinson's disease. Mahlon R. DeLong (Emory University School of Medicine) formulated a new model for the brain's circuitry and exposed a fresh target for this illness. Alim Louis Benabid (Joseph Fourier University, Grenoble) devised an effective and reversible intervention that remedies neuronal misfirings. Their work has culminated in an effective treatment for more than 100,000 individuals worldwide with severe illness who suffer from complications of levodopa therapy.