The installation in the capital of a Belgian neurology researcher should allow the opening of a clinic specializing in the treatment of sleep focused on complementary care to medications.
“Many sleep clinics focus on the study of sleep apnea and are run by pulmonologists,” underlines Belgian clinical doctor and neurologist Steven Laureys.
“I think it’s very important that neurologists can also deal with sleep disorders. The majority [des gens atteints] are not people who snore or suffer from sleep apnea. » These people, he says, have insomnia of neurological origin “for which we will offer a solution”.
Coming from the University of Liège, the Dr Laureys has just been recruited by Laval University to lead a new Canada Excellence Research Chair. His research subject is “neuroplasticity”, or the brain’s ability to adapt and transform itself, through new neuronal connections.
“Neuroplasticity is important in cases of brain trauma or disease. But it can also allow us to learn to better manage stress, ruminations which will have an impact on sleep, for example. »
Meditation and lifestyle
Author of successful books, he notably made a name for himself after studying the brains of Buddhist monks, such as Matthieu Ricard, an experience documented in the book Meditation is good for the brain.
With medication, he says, a person is “a little passive.” Hence the relevance of adding complementary treatments. “It’s about inviting patients to play a central role” in improving their condition, through meditation or even through sleep or physical activity “as supplements”. “The challenge will be to document these effects. »
In an interview, he emphasizes how there is “a lot” of work to be done to elucidate the secrets of the brain. “It remains one of the greatest mysteries for science. It’s easier to send a man to the Moon than to understand how our own consciousness works. »
The future clinic will be attached to the CERVO Research Center and the Integrated University Health and Social Services Center of the Capitale-Nationale, associated with Laval University. The Dr Laureys, however, is not able to say when it will be able to open its doors.
Magnets on the skull
The researcher, who is also a visiting professor at Harvard University, also offers “neuromodulation” treatments, a new “tool” which consists of non-invasively, electrically stimulating specific areas of the brain with magnets placed on the skull. “Modulation will complement pharmacological treatments,” he explains.
He suggests that it is a “tool that is effective in a series of indications”, such as depression, for example. However, it is little used, and research into its effects must continue. In particular, he wants to know why certain patients “do not respond” to this type of treatment.
The researcher, who does a lot of popularization and is very present in the media, also wants to give credibility to these different approaches.
“I think in the media it’s still too polarized,” he says of meditation and neuromodulation. “We really advocate an approach validated by scientific methods, but which applies to reality on the ground. »
The new chair received a budget of $8 million over eight years from the federal government to carry out its activities.