Mary Ellis wrote “The field of optogenetics -
which employs genetically encoded switches that turn neurons on or off with
light - has taken a step forward; scientists have created flexible,
implantable, wireless devices that can activate and potentially block pain
signals in the body before they make it to the brain.” Some scientists have previously used light to
activate nerve cells in animals had to attach the animals to wires. This would
limit their movability but with this follow device they could be move around. New study published in the journal Nature Biotechnology, researchers from Washington
University of Medicine in St. Louis, MO, and the University of Illinois have
built on wireless technology to create the flexible devices that can be
implanted under the skin. This device didn’t need any batteries because they
used radio waves to power it.
These researchers hoped their implants will
one day be used in different areas of the body to block pain that is not
treatable with other therapies. "Our eventual goal is to use this
technology to treat pain in very specific locations by providing a kind of
'switch' to turn off the pain signals long before they reach the brain,"
says study author Prof. Robert W. Gereau IV, from the Washington University
Pain Center. Gereau explained such
devices had to be "anchored" to bone, whereas the new devices are
held in place with sutures. The benefit
of these new flexible devices - which contain microLED lights that activate
specific nerve cells - is that they enable scientists to work with neurons in
the spinal cord or other locations outside of the central nervous system. For
their study, Prof. Gereau and colleagues experimented with genetically engineered
mice with light-sensitive proteins on specific nerve cells. In order to establish that their implants
could disrupt the pain pathway in nerve cells, the team triggered a pain
response using light; as the mice walked through a certain area in a maze, the
researchers activated the devices, causing discomfort for the mice. Then, when
they left that area, the devices switched off, clearing the discomfort.
The researchers
explain that because the smaller devices are flexible and can be held in place
with sutures, the device could have potential uses around the bladder, stomach,
intestines, heart or other organs. Although
their study demonstrated that their devices are able to deliver pain to mice,
they explain that the same technology could now be used to block these pain
signals, providing hope for patients with currently untreatable pain.
I would love to see more research done on
this. This could be used on people with neurological
pain disorders like RSD or fibromyalgia.
Having a wife with RSD I know how much pain she goes through after a
long day of working. She uses different
kinds of non-narcotic pain medicine to relieve her pain but she needs to have
the medication increased every few years or recently used Cranial Electrotherapy
Stimulation, a technique where electrodes were implanted in her ear lobe that
would lessen her pain for a couple years but it would only work on a small
amount of people with RSD. If they could
better develop the device to block pain and have the batteries that can be
charge remotely as you sleep or be kinetic powered like some watches are today
it could be a savior for others with chronic pain or could one day be used in
hospitals to help patients recover from surgery.
No comments:
Post a Comment