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| Image 1: Overall view of the transistor section of the sensor, including the liquid layer. The amount of current that flows through the liquid between the source and drain is determined by the voltage of the top gate. Ionic fluids such as saltwater are good conductors of electricity. Credit: NIST
A prime suspect in the onset of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases is a normally benign enzyme that is essential to proper development of the nervous system. Under certain conditions, however, its chemical structure changes and it goes rogue, contributing to the neural devastation that accompanies dementia.
Researchers around the world are intensely investigating this enzyme, called Cdk5, to understand its dynamics and eventually find ways to mitigate or eliminate its damage. Now scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and colleagues have devised a novel, highly sensitive system to track the activity of Cdk5 in real time with more than 10 times greater sensitivity than previously possible.
"The sensitivity of this technique can enable a new class of tests that could allow early detection of neurological conditions like Alzheimer's disease years or even decades before the first symptoms appear," said co-researcher Harish Pant of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). "Importantly, such diagnostic tests can be non-invasive and made using blood or platelets."
Looking at Labels
"The traditional way of studying these molecules involves labeling biological subjects with either a radioactive or fluorescent tracer," said NIST researcher Arvind Balijepalli, who developed the new system together with Son Le and Curt Richter at NIST, and Pant. They report their findings online in the journal Nanoscale.
Image 2. The sensor has a second, bottom gate (VB) in addition to the top gate (VT). The bottom gate voltage can be adjusted up or down, affecting the amount of current flow across the top layer. Credit: NIST
To make a measurement today," Balijepalli said, "you put your enzymes and their substrates [their biochemical targets] in a test tube, incubate them together with specially labeled chemicals for a while, and then count the radioactive emissions or flashes of light that come out. The whole process can take as much as half a day. And it requires expensive, specialized molecule handling and radioactive material precautions."
That method gives a good overall indication of how much total activity occurred during an extended period.
Voltage Footprint
"But our system, based on a transistor structure, requires no labels and measures enzyme action thousands of times a second," Son Le said, "so we can watch the signal change. That gives us both kinetic information about the enzyme along the way as well as static information when the process reaches a steady state."
The system works by tracking telltale biochemical activity as Cdk5 runs amok. The enzyme's Jekyll-and-Hyde behavior occurs because environmental factors, genetics and aging cause it to lose a part of subunit that normally restrains its activity to the orderly transfer of phosphorous-and-oxygen groups ("phosphates") to its intended neural customers.
Image 3. Outside the transistor, the Cdk5 enzyme is placed in a test tube along with ATP (adenosine triphosphate, the universal energy currency of life) and a substrate (biological target) of Cdk5. As the enzyme does its work, it throws off positively charged protons, changing the electrical state of the solution. Credit: NIST
But when Cdk5's regulation breaks down, it goes hyperactive and begins transferring phosphate groups to proteins indiscriminately, leading to a cascade of destructive cellular activity. In doing so, it leaves a revealing footprint: Every time Cdk5 hands off a phosphate group, it also releases one or more free protons. As the positively charged protons accumulate, they increase the acidity of the surrounding fluid. The more protons released, the more strongly Cdk5 is working.
Liquid Gate
To measure that activity, the researchers devised a two-gated transistor (for details, see illustrations) in which the top gate is covered by a drop of a special electrically conductive liquid that couples the top gate to electrical charges such as those associated with the protons. That liquid is connected by a wire to a separate small test tube containing deregulated Cdk5 and a selected substrate.
As the number of protons carrying positive charges accumulates in the test tube, the electrical potential between the test tube solution and the liquid gate changes. That voltage, in turn, affects how much current moves from the transistor's source to its drain.
The device is designed to operate at constant current, which is continuously monitored by a feedback device. When a change in the voltage at the liquid gate occurs—changing the current flow—the feedback controller sends a voltage to a second, solid gate on the bottom of the transistor that compensates and keeps the current constant. The voltage applied to the bottom gate is the system's output signal.
Image 4. The test tube solution is connected electrically to the transistor top gate (VT). Because of the build-up of positive charges in the solution, the connection changes the voltage at the top gate. The more protons in the solution, the more current moves across between the source and drain. Credit: NIST"
That arrangement acts as an amplifier," Curt Richter explained. "Although it takes only a tiny change in the voltage on the top gate to affect current flow, the bottom gate, which has a thick silicon dioxide layer, is much less efficient. As a result, it takes about 100 times more voltage applied to the bottom gate to maintain a constant current—giving us a magnified signal that is easier to measure. For example, if our gain were 100, a 1 millivolt [thousandth of a volt] change on the top would require a 100 millivolt change on the bottom."
Other groups have experimented with two-gate configurations and feedback controllers. But a unique feature of the new system is its significantly increased sensitivity and the electronic circuitry that allows monitoring changes in milliseconds.
Out of the Test Tube
That extremely fine time resolution, Balijepalli said, "gives us detailed information about how these complexes form and what the mechanism of their interaction is. That could be important to understand why diseases arise in the first place. We may not know what dynamics are important without a very short measurement interval."
That kind of information will be crucial for researchers who want to develop drugs to "re-regulate" Cdk5, and thus prevent the destructive cascades from occurring.
Image 5. An automated feedback system continuously alters the voltage of the bottom gate (VB) so that the current flow on the top of the transistor remains constant. The bottom-gate voltage changes thus provide a measure of the amount of Cdk5 in the solution. Credit: NIST
"At this stage," Balijepalli said, "we'd like to see if we can use this as a drug-discovery platform. Our colleagues at NIH have a lot of experience in building protein therapeutics. They're interested in testing the efficacy of those drugs and understanding the mechanism of their action. We believe this platform can enable both those things."
"Even further down the road, the goal is to move out of the test tube and see if there are applications in clinical diagnostics for early detection of disease," said Harish Pant of the NIH. "Because such tests can be made rapidly, they could be used to monitor patients with a family history of neurological disease from an early age to detect when subtle changes in enzyme activity manifest. If such diagnostic tools are developed, it will radically alter the way these diseases are treated and managed."
In the near term, however, the team will work on improved mechanisms that can hasten adoption of the technology. "The liquid gates are very nice in that they give us high sensitivity, but are difficult to mass produce," Balijepalli said. "It's hard to imagine something like this easily being packaged commercially. So, one of the areas we want to pursue is how do we move back into a 100 % solid-state device while keeping some of the advantages of using liquid gates."
More information: Son T Le et al. Quantum Capacitance-Limited MoS2 Biosensors Enable Remote Label-Free Enzyme Measurements, Nanoscale (2019). DOI: 10.1039/C9NR03171E
Journal information: Nanoscale
Provided by National Institute of Standards and Technology
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2019-08-high-sensitivity-detector-aid-early-alzheimer.html?utm_source=nwletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily-nwletter |
Thursday, August 8, 2019
Novel high-sensitivity detector could aid in early Alzheimer's diagnosis
AUGUST 8, 2019 by Ben P. Stein, National Institute of Standards and Technology
High-energy lasers could be used to treat Alzheimer's disease in the future
AUGUST 8, 2019 by Tokyo University of Science
Journal information: Scientific Reports
Amyloid fibrils are a type of self-assembled proteins/peptides that take on a stacked sheet-like formation. Amyloid fibril aggregates are known to be a cause of several diseases—including Alzheimer's—and therefore, it is of immense scientific interest to understand how these aggregates can be broken. Some types of amyloid fibrils also play a role in regulation of gene expression in some organisms. It is also thought that the fiber-like formats appearing in these aggregates act as scaffolds on which to cultivate biomaterials. Therefore, a suitable technique for breakdown or "dissociation" of amyloid protein fibrils is critical from the perspective of medical treatment, modification of biological structures and functions, and even biomaterial engineering.
A collaborative group of Japanese scientists from the IR Free Electron Laser Research Center at Tokyo University of Science and The Institute of Scientific and Industrial Research at Osaka University, consisting of Dr. Takayasu Kawasaki, Prof Koichi Tsukiyama, and Asst Prof Akinori Irizawa, has now shown that a far-infrared (FIR) free-electron laser (FEL), called FIR-FEL, can be used to break down amyloid protein aggregates, which is a testament to the power of interdisciplinary scientific research. This study has been published recently in Scientific Reports. Kawasaki states, "We wanted to demonstrate the applicability of strong free-electron lasers in the life sciences, and this interdisciplinary research has made this possible."
Previous studies have investigated the dissociation of amyloid fibrils but with limited success and mixed results. Because their dissociation in water is difficult, physical methods of dissociation have been explored in the past. Lasers and electromagnetic radiation have been used for fabrication and structural/functional alteration of chemical and biological materials. Among lasers, the FIR-FEL has been studied very sparsely, although it has high penetration power and is absorbed well by biological systems. It is also used in tissue imaging, cancer diagnostics, and biophysics studies. Kawasaki explains, "Our study shows for the first time that FIR-FEL is also useful for breaking down the fibril aggregate structure of proteins."
For their study, the researchers used the 5-residue peptide DFKNF as the model because the link between its fibrillation and pathogenesis is already established. This peptide auto-assembles into a fibril sheet. They found that FIR-FEL damaged the rigid β-sheet conformation (one of the few structures that proteins assume) of the 5-residue peptide by creating small holes on the peptide film. The researchers found that FIR-FEL also disrupts the hydrogen bonds between adjacent β-sheets in the fibril and gives rise to free peptides. This is referred to as dissociation.
Kawasaki and team then checked for conformational changes in the peptide fibril after irradiation with FIR-FEL, by analyzing the ratios of 4 types of secondary structures of peptides (α-helix, β-sheet, β-turn, and other). They found that the proportion of the β-sheet conformation was drastically reduced, which suggests that the rigid sheet-like structure of the fibril was disrupted.
Kawasaki states that a previous study had also found mid-infrared (MIR)-FEL to be effective in this regard. "We compared the effects of MIR-FEL with those of FIR-FEL," says Kawasaki, "and we found that although MIR-FEL caused conformational changes in the fibril aggregates, it did not break down the fibrils as affectively as FIR-FEL did."
Using scanning electron microscopy and dye staining techniques, the researchers also confirmed that FIR-FEL causes morphological changes in the fibrils. Kawasaki says, "Because amyloid fibril peptides are involved in regulation of biological functions as well as pathologies, physical modification techniques (like FIR-FEL) could also be used to alter the biological functions of these macromolecules as needed."
As FIR-FEL is more effective than MIR-FEL, FIR-FEL can be used to destroy amyloid fibrils deep inside tissues, as in the case of Alzheimer's disease, whereas MIR-FEL can be used for removing dermal amyloids on the surface of the skin. Also, because fibril proteins act as scaffolds for biocompatible materials, FIR-FEL could be used in biomaterial engineering in regenerative medicine or Nano carrier drug-delivery systems.
To conclude, Kawasaki eloquently states, "For the first time in the world, we have found that a rigid aggregate of amyloid fibrils can be effectively broken down using a free-electron laser in the terahertz region (wavelength 50-100 micrometers). Our next step would be to understand how FIR-FEL affects different types of peptide fibrils. Our research can fuel the development of novel treatments for intractable diseases such as Alzheimer's. It could also aid the development of new methods for manipulating the structure of biocompatible materials."
More information: Takayasu Kawasaki et al, Dissolution of a fibrous peptide by
terahertz free electron laser, Scientific Reports (2019). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-47011-z
Journal information: Scientific Reports
Provided by Tokyo University of Science
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2019-08-high-energy-lasers-alzheimer-disease-future.html?utm_source=nwletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily-nwletter
Virtual Reality Game by Engineering Students May Help Parkinson’s Patients with Walking WS.
AUGUST 8, 2019 BY JOSE MARQUES LOPES, PHD
A virtual reality game being created by engineering students, called “Overcome,” aims to offer Parkinson’s patients safe and fun ways of taking part in rehabilitation sessions that might preserve walking and mobility skills.
Though players of all ages may find the game entertaining, “Overcome” is intended for adults with walking difficulties due to this disease.
People with Parkinson’s are at a significant risk of falls when walking because of gait, tremor and balance problems. In addition to injuries and disabilities, falls can promote social isolation.
Unlike strength training, stretching and flexibility, which are the typical focus of physiotherapy sessions, clinical interventions for Parkinson’s stress the importance of dynamic walking environments – such as stepping over an obstacle – to preserve motor skills. But creating such environments in a clinical setting can be challenging.
Engineering students at the University of Southern California (USC) are developing a therapeutic game that offers players the possibility of taking part in a rehabilitation session. Its use requires a treadmill and a virtual reality headset like HTC Vive, and its creators hope to have patients using it at hospitals or other facilities in the near future.
In “Overcome,” players train their muscles as they walk on a treadmill and roam a virtual city with roads, props, pavements, buildings, cars, and even trash. The game comes with a day mode and a night mode, which is still in preparation.
“We wanted to keep the environment realistic,” Adim Abass, a master’s degree candidate at USC Viterbi School of Engineering, said in a university news release written by Dena Taha.
Players gain points and complete levels by avoiding remotely controlled obstacles on the virtual sidewalk, such as tree branches, chairs, paper, and plastic cups. To make the game more immersive, the team added audio and haptic (touch) feedback.
Two trackers are placed on the feet to detect leg movement. The headset is also used to detect impending collisions. When coming into contact with an obstacle, players receive a vibration that warns them to change their path.
“Haptics add the sense of touch to virtual environments,” said Naghmeh Zamani, a PhD student. “The appropriate force and vibration applied to the user’s hand or body help them experience touching a virtual object.”
To help train cognition and memory, players are also asked to use controllers to categorize trash items according to whether they are recyclable or not.
“Our solution is not a substitute for being outdoors, but it eases the initial phase of rehabilitation,” Abass said.
“Overcome” is part of a National Institutes of Health-funded project led by James Finley, a professor of biomedical engineering and director of the Locomotor Control Lab at USC. The project aims to develop virtual reality as a way to increase physical training and improve patients’ engagement in rehabilitation.
According to Finley, virtual reality offers patients a graded exposure to obstacles and an engaging approach to physical therapy, while tracking their progress.
https://parkinsonsnewstoday.com/2019/08/08/virtual-reality-game-by-usc-engineering-students-aims-at-walking-skills-in-parkinsons-patients/
Parkinson’s Non-Motor Symptoms More Keenly Felt by Care Partners Than Patients, PMD Alliance Survey Finds
AUGUST 8, 2019 BY CATARINA SILVA
An online survey by the nonprofit group PMD Alliance found that care partners are more likely to report Parkinson’s disease-related non-motor symptoms than are patients themselves, and to feel more affected by them.
These responses underscore the need for better recognition and education about Parkinson’s non-motor symptoms, many of which significantly affect quality of life.
A study based on the survey, “Impact of non-motor symptoms in Parkinson’s disease: a PMDAlliance survey,” was published in Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment.
Besides its typical motor symptoms, people with Parkinson’s often experience such disease-related issues as cognitive impairment, sleep difficulties, depression, anxiety, and psychosis.
These symptoms affect patients’ quality of life and increase the burden felt by care partners, who play an important role in keeping patients engaged in daily activities.
Care partner, according to the study, refers to a partnership between a care receiver (patient) and giver that’s characterized by mutual cooperation and joint responsibility. It’s distinct from caregiver, which usually implies care provided to people unable to take care for themselves.
To evaluate and better understand the perceptions, experiences, and educational needs of Parkinson’s patients and their care partners in terms of non-motor symptoms, researchers designed a 17-question, patient-oriented survey. The online questionnaire was sent to all members of the PMD Alliance — also known as the Parkinson & Movement Disorder Alliance — most of whom are patients and their care partners. A majority, about 75%, of members are older than 65.
Investigators registered 700 completed surveys. Of these, 378 (54%) came from care partners and 287 (41%) from Parkinson’s patients; the remaining 5% were from “others,” a term that includes health professionals as well as other family members or friends.
“About 90% of the respondents reported having experience with [non-motor symptoms] in [people with Parkinson’s], including sleep problems (84%), cognitive symptoms (76%), anxiety (65%), depression (56%), hallucinations (40%), and delusions (23%),” the researchers wrote.
Compared to patients, care partners were most likely to report these non-motor manifestations, except for sleep problems or excessive tiredness (84% of care partners and 85% of patients).
Overall, non-motor symptoms were reported by more care partners (97%) than by people with the neurodegenerative disorder (80%). Differences in the reported prevalence between care partners (357 respondents) and patients (216) of these symptoms were statistically significant for cognitive challenges (84% vs. 62%), anxiety (69% vs. 57%), depression (59% vs. 50%), hallucinations (51% vs. 23%), and delusions (32% vs. 8%), the researchers state.
Among the 579 respondents with non-motor symptom experience, symptom onset was evident within three years of diagnosis for more than half (53%), and within five years after diagnosis for 72%.
Almost half of all respondents — more care partners than patients — said non-motor manifestations were harder to deal with than motor symptoms.
More care partners than patients also “indicated that [non-motor symptoms] had either ‘very much’ of an impact (28% vs. 7%) or ‘quite a bit’ of an impact (38% vs. 26%) on quality of life,” while patients were more likely (42% vs. 24%) to define these symptoms as having only “‘some’ impact on quality of life,” the researchers wrote.
Daily activities most affected ranged from completing self-care (72%) and making plans or socializing with family and friends (57% and 58%, respectively), to running errands and finishing household chores (both 53%).
Most respondents, especially care partners with or without non-motor symptom experience, expressed an interest in more information and better education regarding cognitive symptoms, sleep problems, anxiety, depression, hallucinations or delusions.
“This survey underscores the significant impact of [non-motor symptoms] on the quality of life of [people with Parkinson’s] and highlights the need for improved recognition and education about its effects,” the researchers concluded.
https://parkinsonsnewstoday.com/2019/08/08/parkinsons-non-motor-symptoms-keenly-felt-by-care-partners-pmd-alliance-survey-finds/
Parkinson's study in mice highlights importance of motor learning in combination with dopamine replacement
Aug. 8, 2019
Dopamine-producing neurons are essential for motor skill learning in a mouse model of Parkinson’s disease, according to a new study from the NIA Intramural Research Program (IRP). Findings were published July 30 in Cell Reports by a team of researchers from the Laboratory of Neurogenetics in the NIA IRP.
Parkinson’s disease (PD) causes shaking and stiffness, and leads to difficulty with walking, balance, and coordination. Some of the nerve cells most affected by PD are those responsible for producing and transmitting the neurotransmitter dopamine, vital for controlling complex body movements. Dopamine-replacement therapy is a common treatment for PD-related movement issues like tremor and slowness of movement but is less effective in treating postural instability and gait disability, which are related to motor learning decline.
In the study, the NIA IRP researchers focused on a small group of neurons and their role in motor skill acquisition in late-stage Parkinson’s. In a PD mouse model, scientists targeted dehydrogenase 1A1-positive (ALDH1A1+) nigrostriatal dopaminergic neurons (nDANs)—the dopamine-producing brain cells that experience the most loss in PD, causing severe impairments in motor skill learning and modest reduction in high-speed walking. The researchers next produced a detailed map of ALDH1A1+ nDANs neuronal networks in the rodent brain.
They then selectively removed these neurons in mice to mimic the pattern of brain cell loss in late-stage PD. The team used a rotarod test—in which the mice must learn to balance and walk on a rod that constantly rotates like a treadmill—to evaluate motor skill learning. The ALDH1A1+ nDANs knockout mice lost the ability to learn new motor skills.
Dopamine-replacement therapy did not help the mice regain their ability to learn new motor skills. The researchers concluded that because motor learning requires a dynamic response to stimuli and a timely release of dopamine inputs, dopamine-replacement therapy alone was not sufficient to restore motor learning.
The findings suggest that motor skill learning requires dynamic neural network activity orchestrated by ALDH1A1+ nDANs. They point toward the potential need for specialized physical and occupational therapy, in addition to dopamine-replacement, to help rebuild motor learning neural circuits in people with PD. Future studies will be necessary to better understand how these specific neurons regulate motor skill learning at both the cellular and circuit levels.
Reference: Wu, et al. Distinct connectivity and functionality of aldehyde dehydrogenase 1A1-positive nigrostriatal dopaminergic neurons in motor learning. Cell Reports. 2019;28(5):1167-1181.e7. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2019.06.095.
https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=4282591254614897626#editor/target=post;postID=7144638492348884407;onPublishedMenu=allposts;onClosedMenu=allposts;postNum=0;src=postname
Brain researchers invent an affordable smartphone measurement for testing of medications
AUGUST 8, 2019 by University of Copenhagen
Suffering from tremor can be very frustrating and reduce the quality of life for many people. This includes people suffering from Parkinson's, multiple sclerosis or spinal cord injury and a relatively high fraction of the elderly. Today, there are no effective treatments for tremor, and thus, there is great potential in finding medications that can inhibit or completely suppress the tremor.
It is possible to test new medications for tremor in mouse models. Unfortunately, the equipment that measures the tremor in such tests is expensive and for that reason many scientists do not measure it. A single measuring device costs DKK 100,000-130,000. But now, brain researcher Eva Maria Meier Carlsen has invented an affordable solution to this problem.
"I thought it would be a pity if expensive equipment kept us from continuing our research to find treatments for tremor. That's why I set out to find an affordable and valid way to measure it, and I came up with the idea of using a smartphone as a measuring device," explains Eva Maria Meier Carlsen, who is a postdoc at the Department of Neuroscience.
Researchers Should Challenge the Conventions
In all its simplicity, the new method works by suspending a cage by means of rubber bands. A smartphone is mounted on the cage and—by means of its accelerometer—it measures the vibrations of the cage if the mouse trembles. The accelerometer is what can detect the movement of the smartphone, e.g. when taking pictures or playing games. With this method, researchers can relatively easily test whether medications will work to alleviate the tremor.
The brain researchers have repeated their tests with advanced and expensive equipment for measurement of tremor in collaboration with the company Saniona which, among other things, develops medications for the central nervous system. The smartphone method produced comparable results and may therefore be used by the research team itself and other researchers to prospectively look for treatments.
"It is a really good idea that Eva got, and our new study emphasises its validity. It is a good example of how we researchers sometimes have to challenge the conventions and invent new methods that are more accessible and can be used by more people," says the head of the research project Jean-François Perrier, Associate Professor at the Department of Neuroscience.
Already in Use
In connection with the new solution, the smartphone itself is the only significant cost. On the other hand, the expensive measurement technology costs more than DKK 100,000 for a single device. To make the solution even cheaper, there are also open source alternatives to the smartphone manufacturers, Eva Maria Meier Carlsen points out, such as the so-called single board computers which simply need to have an accelerometer mounted and installed.
The brain researchers are already using the new method to test medications for tremor in mice. They will also use the new affordable solution to test already approved medications that will have a much shorter path to the patients than brand new medications.
More information: Eva Maria Meier Carlsen et al, Accurate and affordable assessment of physiological and pathological tremor in rodents with the accelerometer of a smartphone, Journal of Neurophysiology (2019). DOI: 10.1152/jn.00281.2019
Journal information: Journal of Neurophysiology
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2019-08-brain-smartphone-medications.html
Wednesday, August 7, 2019
Smartphone-controlled device could deliver drugs into the brain
August 7, 2019 By Maria Cohut
An international research team has designed a wireless, smartphone-controlled device that is able to deliver drugs straight into the brain. It can also stimulate brain cells using light. So far, the scientists have tested this device in mice.
The new device may help scientists deliver drugs straight into the brain.
In a new effort — the results of which they have reported in the journal Nature Biomedical Engineering — researchers from the United States and the Republic of Korea have come together to devise a new brain implant able to both stimulate brain cells and to deliver drugs straight to the brain.
The novel device, which the researchers call "wireless optofluidic brain probes," is easily controllable using smartphone technology.
"The wireless neural device enables chronic chemical and optical neuromodulation that has never been achieved before," says lead study author Raza Qazi.
Qazi is affiliated with the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology in Daejeon, the Republic of Korea, as well as with the University of Colorado Boulder.
The team has developed the new tool in the hopes that doctors may one day be able to use it to find out more about the possible causes of various conditions that affect the brain. These include Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, addiction, and clinical depression.
For the time being, however, the researchers have been testing and perfecting their device in mice.
Creating a 'revolutionary device'
The team wanted to design a device that was easier to use and longer lived than existing probe models. Existing models tend to rely on rigid metal tubes and optical fibers when it comes to delivering stimuli or drugs to the brain.
Old fashioned probes are cumbersome, and they can also cause brain legions due to their rigidity. Also, they can only deliver a limited quantity of drugs into the brain.
The new device, however, is lighter. It also uses tiny replaceable cartridges that contain the drugs. This way, scientists can remove and replace them with fresh, drug filled cartridges as necessary.
Moreover, the probes it uses are very thin — no thicker than a human hair, in fact. It also uses bluetooth low energy, which the team can control using smartphone technology, to release drugs into the brain and to stimulate selected brain cells. Both of these innovations allow researchers to use the device more safely and for longer periods of time.
Not only that, but they could also set up automated animal study models in which they could manipulate animals' behavior by targeting particular brain cells using the wireless device.
Study author Prof. Michael Bruchas also emphasizes the device's clinical potential in allowing researchers to develop new therapies for pain, as well as for neurological and neuropsychiatric conditions.
"It allows us to better dissect the neural circuit basis of behavior, and how specific neuromodulators in the brain tune behavior in various ways," he explains.
"We are also eager to use the device for complex pharmacological studies, which could help us develop new therapeutics for pain, addiction, and emotional disorders," adds Prof. Bruchas.
For the moment, the research team will continue to work on this device, hoping to eventually apply it to targeted clinical research.
"This revolutionary device is the fruit of advanced electronics design and powerful micro and nanoscale engineering."
Study co-author Prof. Jae-Woong Jeong
"We are interested in further developing this technology to make a brain implant for clinical applications," says Prof. Jeong.
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/325972.php?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_country=US&utm_hcp=no&utm_campaign=MNT%20Daily%20News%202019-08-07&utm_term=MNT%20Daily%20News
Boxing class aims to put Parkinson's on the ropes
By CRAIG S. SEMON, Telegram & Gazette Aug. 7, 2019
WEST BOYLSTON, Mass. (AP) — Two years ago, Chad Moir opened his DopaFit studio inside the ABL Dance Center at 184 West Boylston St. He also has the DopaFit Parkinson's Movement Center in Southampton, which he opened in 2015.
Last month, Mr. Moir gave a presentation about his DopaFit program at the World Parkinson Congress in Kyoto, Japan, a gathering sponsored by the World Parkinson Coalition. He spoke to an international group, using a Japanese translator.
A licensed exercise therapist, Mr. Moir started to research and develop the DopaFit exercise curriculum about two years after his mother, Cindy Moir, died from complications from Parkinson's disease seven years ago. She was only 55.
"It took me a couple of years to even to be able to speak the word Parkinson's disease," Mr. Moir said. "And now, five years later, I was in Japan presenting it to the world."
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