The documentary Repairing the brain, the chance of a new life follows Jennifer, Dominique and Solène, three people who suffer from neurological diseases or complications related to the brain, but from three different disorders. “Jennifer suffers for example from essential tremors, explains Timothée Dereix, who signs this documentary. VSThese are not simple tremors, she cannot hold a glass of water, her hands have been shaking for eight years. It is a real handicap for her, she is 31 years old and she no longer works because she is shaking too much. There is Dominique, 62, who suffers from Parkinson’s disease. When he wakes up in the morning he is stuck, his life has also become very complicated. I also followed Solène, 20, who has a tumor in her brain, a tumor that will grow and if it is not removed, she risks dying. All three of them have dysfunctional brains, they are going to go through an incredible operation. “
Often moving, the 52 minutes of the documentary mark in particular by the empathy that the three characters can arouse, in their daily life, in family, in front of their pathology. What required spending a lot of time in their presence: “I spent a lot of time with them, underlines Thimothée Dereix. These people are at a turning point in their life, they have accepted that I am with them for many months, before, during and after the operation. ”
Timothée Dereix was able to attend the operations at the hospital while the patients were awake. “It’s not a horror movie, but it’s very impressive, we open the skull with a small hole, with electrodes for two of them that go down to the heart of the brain and the patient remains awake. There is something quite fascinating about it. Me, if I have an operation, I am rather happy to be asleep and not to see anything. These people are heroes, for me: they opened their eyes during the operation, they must be lucid to guide the surgeon’s hand inside their brain. “
Without revealing too much the content of the documentary, the operations all go rather well, even if the follow-up is obviously very careful. A undoubtedly revolutionary technique, both scientifically and medically, for brain disorders. But which is still quite rare or not necessarily intended for everyone. “About 200,000 people have Parkinson’s in France. The operation offers real hope, even if it can only apply to 5 to 10% of people who suffer from Parkinson’s. But it will probably be used to treat d other diseases like obsessive-compulsive disorder or eating disorders are still in the research field. “
Repair the brain, the chance of a new life to see Tuesday, November 9 at 8:55 pm on France 5. Broadcast followed by a debate in “Enquête de santé” presented by Marina Carrère d’Encausse. Then find it in replay on the France 5 site.