Surgeons Place Catheter Deep Into Man’s Brain

MIAMI — Surgeons drilled a pinhole in Kenneth Sibley’s skull and inserted a tiny flexible tube deep into his brain in the first use of an implanted catheter to administer medicine they hope will slow his Lou Gehrig’s disease.

Sibley, a 39-year-old commercial real estate agent who doctors estimate has only three years to live, said he is willing to be a human guinea pig despite the risk that the treatment itself could cause bleeding that could kill him. Lou Gehrig’s disease, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, is an incurable neurological disorder that slowly destroys the body.

“A surgical implant of a device into my brain is a scary proposition, to say the least, but I am determined to fight this disease as aggressively as possible for the sake of my family,” Sibley said, using a tiny keyboard to communicate.

The Birmingham, Ala., man, who is married with three children, received the implant Dec. 4 and was in Miami this week for his second treatment when doctors at the University of Miami announced the experiment.

Surgeons there inserted the catheter through the front of Sibley’s skull just under his scalp, across the top of the brain and then 3 inches down into the frontal lobe. The catheter is virtually invisible underneath the scalp.

The drug GDNF, or Glial Derived Neurotrophic Factor, is injected via the catheter directly into Sibley’s brain once a month.

He is the first to take part in the experiment, which is expected to last at least 1 1/2 years. Eventually, he will be joined by 24 others nationwide with Lou Gehrig’s disease, getting GDNF or a placebo.