A wrist-worn ‘zapper’ that reduces symptoms of the speech disorder Tourette’s syndrome could be rolled out across the NHS next year.
The device, Neupulse, sends electrical pulses to the median nerve at the bottom of the wrist to stimulate the part of the brain that causes the involuntary tics associated with this condition.
It has been tested by singer and Tourette’s sufferer Lewis Capaldi, 28, and a clinical trial of 121 British patients found they benefited, on average, from a 25 per cent reduction in tic frequency.
Tic severity was reduced by an additional 35 percent with regular use for four weeks.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), the NHS spending watchdog, says it plans to make a decision on funding Neupulse in April.
The device, Neupulse (pictured), sends electrical pulses to the median nerve at the bottom of the wrist to stimulate the part of the brain that causes involuntary tics.
It has been tested by singer and Tourette patient Lewis Capaldi (pictured at Glastonbury in 2023).
Tourette syndrome affects more than 300,000 people in Britain and sufferers make sudden, uncontrolled movements or noises (file image)
“Electrical stimulation at the wrist is easy to administer and does not require large, expensive equipment,” Dr. Katherine Dyke, assistant professor of psychology at the University of Nottingham, told Medscape News UK. “This makes it possible to develop wearable devices that individuals can use without clinical support.”
Tourette syndrome affects more than 300,000 people in Britain and sufferers make sudden, uncontrolled movements or noises.
It usually appears in children between the ages of two and 15, and symptoms often disappear during adolescence and early adulthood.
Behavioral therapy, in which patients talk to a specialist about ways to manage symptoms, can help, but research suggests that only a fifth of young patients are offered this treatment. Medications are available that reduce the rate of symptoms, but they have side effects including depression, weight gain, and tremors.
NICE is also deciding whether to approve online therapy.
A 2021 study found that ten weeks of online prevention therapy, which teaches patients how to suppress tics and tolerate the urge to have them, significantly reduced symptoms in young people.