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Australia

"Electronic brain stimulation used to treat Parkinson's disease may also boost memory"

Source: Daily Telegraph

Published: 09 Feb 2012

Category: Other

Rating: (3½ stars)

Keywords: parkinson's brain stimulation electrical memory

what they said (Hover the mouse cursor over underlined words for more info)

AN electrical brain-stimulation technique used to treat Parkinson's disease and chronic pain appears to enhance human memory as well.

The original article can be found at: http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/lifestyle/electronic-brain-stimulation-used-to-treat-parkinsons-disease-may-also-boost-memory/story-e6frf00i-1226266605487

how did it rate? (more information)

Criteria	Rating
Total Score	5 of 8
Novelty of Treatment	Satisfactory (?)
Availability of Treatment	Satisfactory (?)
Treatment Options	Not Satisfactory (?)
Disease Mongering	Satisfactory (?)
Evidence	Satisfactory (?)
Quantification of Benefits of Treatment	Not Applicable
Harms of Treatment	Not Satisfactory (?)
Costs of Treatment	Satisfactory (?)
Sources of Information	Not Satisfactory (?)
Relies on Press Release	Not Applicable

what we said (Hover the mouse cursor over underlined words for more info)

This story demonstrates that balanced and informative health news doesn't need to be long. The story makes it quite clear this research is preliminary and needs extensive follow up, and it provides links to the article in the New England Journal of Medicine and related stories about memory research. There is no promise of a radical breakthrough for diseases like Alzheimer's, just that this research that may one day lead to a new treatment.

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