Following is another case history from one of the biggest
rehabilitation hospitals in the US. A female meningenoma patient
developed a pea-sized tumor which gradually grew to the size of a grape
and then a plum. She underwent brain surgery and began rehabilitation
because of neurological problems caused by the surgery. After several
years the tumor reappeared and progressed to about the size of a plum
again. She underwent another surgery. A number of years later the
process repeated itself. The period of the three operations covered
about fifteen years.
Sadly, the tumor reappeared for the fourth time and grew again to
about the size of a grape and the patient was sent to the neurofeedback
therapists at the hospital so that they could do the standard Traumatic
Brain Injury protocol with her. They were hoping to improve her social
skills and ability to initiate an action. The NFB therapists primarily
employed a high frequency (beta) strategy with theta inhibit over the
frontal lobes. They also did about three months of beta training over
the site of the tumor. When they sent her for her pre op exam the
neurologist was amazed to see that the tumor growth had apparently
stopped.
This brought great relief because both the neurologist and the
surgeon did not believe she would survive another operation; and if she
did survive it they were sure she would be severely neurologically
impaired. The neurologist said that they would look at her again in a
year. Her family was euphoric because they had feared the worst. As of
this writing she is stable and her next exam should be in about six
months. So far, so good.
The trouble started when her mother began inquiring into what had
been done this time that might have caused a better outcome. When she
found out that the only thing different was the NFB she speculated that
the NFB might be causing changes that had slowed the tumor growth and
that continued NFB might even reduce tumor size. Naturally, she
petitioned the neurologist and neurosurgeon to continue NFB with the
patient. The neurologist asked the NFB therapist to do a literature
search to see if anything like this had been reported and when it was
clear that it had not he said that the whole idea was too absurd and in
any case it was too experimental so he ordered NFB therapy terminated.
The mother was furious but unable to persuade them to change their
minds. The neuro surgeon would not even return the therapist’s phone
calls. There was so much resistance by the administration (neurologist
and neurosurgeon) that the NFB therapists felt their jobs were in
jeopardy. In fact, because of this episode and other similar conflicts,
the neuropsychologist who set up and ran the entire NFB operation (at
considerable profit to the hospital) has left and established a private
practice nearby. There was apparently tremendous anger over the idea
that the NFB therapists had suggested that NFB might have contributed to
the stabilization of (or in any way effected) the tumor growth. To
emphasize their point all tumor patients at the hospital are prohibited
from NFB regardless of the reason (i.e., relaxation, education,
rehabilitation, cognitive dysfunction, stroke, etc.). The mother is
trying to find a way to continue NFB. It will be interesting to see what
happens to the tumor and the patient from here on out.
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