BIID TREATMENT?

Dear All,

I am a Neurologist working at the University of California, San Diego. I work at the Center for Brain and Cognition with Professor Ramachandran: http://psy.ucsd.edu/chip/ramabio.html

We are investigating a new non-surgical treatment for BIID. We particularly interested in seeing patients who suffer from the variant of BIID that gives them the desire to have a limb amputated. Our hope is that this technique could alleviate this desire.

The treatment is called caloric vestibular stimulation and we have strong theoretical grounds for thinking it might work. Basically it involves stimulating the balance centers of the brain by irrigating the outer canal of the ear with water of different temperatures. Its only side-effect is a sensation similar to that of sea-sickness for a couple of minutes. The procedure has been used for a long time for other clinical purposes and has noknown long term side-effects.

If you are interested in taking part in this study then please email
me- pmcgeoch@psy.ucsd.edu

There is no charge for participating and you will receive a gratuity payment for your time. All participation will be entirely confidential.

Many thanks,


Dr Paul McGeoch