Body-mounted "lights" to restore nerve function
January 08, 2019 Source: Science and Technology Daily
Window._bd_share_config={ "common":{ "bdSnsKey":{ },"bdText":"","bdMini":"2","bdMiniList":false,"bdPic":"","bdStyle":" 0","bdSize":"16"},"share":{ }};with(document)0[(getElementsByTagName('head')[0]||body).appendChild(createElement('script')) .src='http://bdimg.share.baidu.com/static/api/js/share.js?v=89860593.js?cdnversion='+~(-new Date()/36e5)];British "Nature" magazine published a new breakthrough in biomedical engineering online on the 6th: a biophotonic subsystem that controls nerve activity through electrical stimulation and light input. The team of American scientists has been able to restore bladder function in rats. . After further development and testing, the system can be a new way to treat diseases and organ dysfunction.
Bioelectronics uses an engineering system to stimulate the nervous system to relieve symptoms of the disease. Such systems may also incorporate optogenetic techniques that use light to control living cells (typically nerve cells). However, current bioelectronic systems lack the specificity required to target specific organs and therefore have the potential to cause unintended side effects.
This time, John Rogge of Northwestern University, Robert Jili of Washington University in St. Louis, and their colleagues developed a micro-biophotonics subsystem and implanted it into female rats with drug-induced bladder dysfunction. . The implant includes a closed loop (self-adjusting) system and several interconnecting components: a sensor to monitor bladder filling; a pair of micro-scale LEDs to illuminate the bladder for optogenetic control; and a wireless unit to provide the system with Power; a data monitoring device. They "introduced" opsin proteins that are sensitive to light signals into the bladder of animals. With the help of viral vectors, these opsins are expressed in nerve cells, allowing the activity of nerve cells to be controlled by light signal switches.
Experiments showed that the rats were well tolerated with the above device, and no significant inflammatory response or weight/motion changes were observed within 7 days after implantation.
The system automatically recognizes pathology types in real time and triggers LEDs to optogenetically stimulate specific bladder nerves to respond. Finally, the rat recovered normal bladder function. The researchers said that further testing and appropriate scale expansion are needed to make it possible to apply the system to humans. However, the research team believes that this technical principle is expected to bring a wide range of biological applications.
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