Scientists have stumbled on a world first in helping a man improve his memory. 
They were experimenting with deep-brain stimulation in an
attempt to curb the appetite of a 30st patient who suffered from a
lifelong obesity problem. Electrodes were pushed into his brain and stimulated with an electric current.
The treatment did not cure his eating problem - but he experienced vivid memories of an event that occurred 30 years earlier.

Surgeons insert electrodes into the brain during operations under local anesthetic

In the following weeks, and up to a year later, the memory of the 50-year-old patient improved.

Neurosurgeon Professor Andres Lozano, who already uses deepbrain
stimulation to control the tremors of Parkinson’s disease, said the
treatment could help scientists understand how the memory works.

A trial is under way in Alzheimer’s sufferers in the hope that a
‘pacemaker’ could be developed for the brain to improve memory loss.

Professor Lozano, a neurosurgery expert at Toronto Western
Hospital in Canada, said: "This is the first time anyone has had
electrodes planted in the brain which have been shown to improve
memory.

"We are driving the activity of the brain by increasing its sensitivity - turning up the volume of the memory circuits.

"We think for those patients with Alzheimer’s who are early on
in their illness, where their memory is affected, it may be possible to
go into circuits and enhance their memory."

Six Alzheimer’s patients have had electrodes surgically implanted by the Toronto team.

"So far, those patients are doing well and there have been no significant side effects of the surgery," said the professor.

"We have some indications of some aspects of memory improving.

"It is something to improve the symptoms of the disease but not
something that we expect will stop the disease in its tracks," he
added.

British researchers were intrigued by the discovery, reported yesterday in the Annals Of Neurology journal.

Andrea Malizia, a senior lecturer in psychopharmacology at
Bristol University, who is studying deep brain stimulation as a
treatment for depression, said: "Serendipitous findings are how a lot
of discoveries in science are made."

Susanne Sorensen, of the Alzheimer’s Society, said: "We hope the
findings can be replicated and eventually lead to new treatments. One
in three people over 65 will end their life with dementia."

Rebecca Wood, of the Alzheimer’s Research Trust, said, "It will
be interesting to see if this offers any benefit. We urgently need to
find ways to tackle this awful disease."