Yang Zimei, 74, is the first Chinese to receive an electrode implant developed to cure Parkinson's disease.

Dr. Ling Feng, a surgeon at Beijing Hospital, performed the two- hour operation, inserting an electrode wire as thin as a sewing needle into the motor nerve area in Yang's brain.

Dr. Ling said that Yang, who has suffered from the illness for six years, will be able to regulate the electrical impulses to his brain using a remote control device one week after the surgery. Yang is expected to fully recover, according to the doctor.

People over 60 are most prone to Parkinson's, a degenerative disease. Symptoms include rhythmic tremors, especially of the fingers and hands, and the gradual loss of muscle control.