New 'brain pacemaker' trial to combat addiction

People with severe alcohol and opioid addictions are being offered the chance to have electrodes implanted in their brains in an attempt to help them transform their lives.

The technique – known as deep brain stimulation – is to be trialled at Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge, and King's College Hospital, London.

The team behind the Brain Pacemaker Addiction Control to End Relapse study (the Brain-PACER) is currently recruiting people.

Prof Valerie Voon, from the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Cambridge, said: "We want to see if it can also transform the lives of people with intractable alcohol and opioid addiction."

Once in place, the electrodes modulate brain activity and cravings to help improve self-control.

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is a neurosurgical procedure that delivers ongoing stimulation to the brain.

According to the University of Cambridge, it acts as a "brain pacemaker" to normalise abnormal brain activity.

The technique is well-tolerated, effective and already widely used for neurological disorders and obsessive compulsive disorder, the researchers said.

Although there have been several proof-of-concept studies suggesting DBS is effective in addictions, according to those behind the research, Brain-PACER, is the first major, multicentre study to use DBS to treat craving and relapse in severe addiction.

Prof Voon added: "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."

DBS is a neurosurgical treatment that involves implanting a slender electrode in the brain and a pacemaker under general anaesthesia.

These electrodes deliver electrical impulses to modulate neural activity, which can help alleviate symptoms of various neurological and psychiatric disorders.

Dr David Okai, visiting senior lecturer from the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, added: "DBS is safe, reversible and adjustable, so it offers a flexible option for managing chronic conditions.

"We hope it will offer a lifeline to help improve the quality of life for patients whose treatment until now has been unsuccessful."

Details on the trial, including criteria for participation and how to sign up, can be found on the Brain-PACER website.

The research is supported by the Medical Research Council, UK Research and Innovation.

Follow Cambridgeshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.