Oct. 3, 2006: Fifteen-year-old Alex Anisimov undergoes brain surgery in hopes of beating back his worsening dystonia, a brain disease that affects his muscles and has left him barely able to walk and talk. The cutting-edge treatment, which has already helped hundreds of Americans with dystonia: Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center neurosurgeon Efstathios Papavassiliou will implant programmable electrodes in Alex’s brain in an attempt to jam faulty signals.