Controlling Epileptiform Activity with Organic Electronic Ion Pumps

Epilepsy is a difficult condition to treat. Affecting 1% of the population—50 million people worldwide—epilepsy is the second most common neurological disorder after migraine. Yet, more than 30% of cases are proven to be resistant to treatment with medication, demonstrating the challenge in creating products that can effectively treat epilepsy. An interesting new treatment approach, developed by researchers in France, administers medication deep within the brain through an electronic micropump, twenty times thinner than a hair, to target the specific cells that cause seizures. This targeted treatment approach allows anticonvulsant drugs to be delivered specifically to areas of the brain associated with epileptic symptoms while leaving healthier regions of the brain unaffected.

The biocompatible pump is controlled at-will with electric currents. When charged, the pump releases gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), an endogenous neurotransmitter, which has an inhibitory effect on neural activity. The team at École des Mines of Saint Étienne (France), led by George G. Malliaras, PhD, in collaboration with Magnus Berggren, PhD, and his team at Linköping University (Sweden), tested the theory upon which the product’s design was based by simulating epileptic episodes in mice. Using the micropump, the researchers injected GABA into the affected regions and observed the results.

The experiment proved immensely successful, with the treatment stopping all abnormal activity in the targeted regions and not interfering with any normal, healthy tissue. Based on these initial results, the team is excited test the treatment in other models.

Additionally, they are interested in combining their pump with a microchip they previously developed in 2013 that records and measures brain function.1 In the future, the two could be used together to detect and treat abnormal activity in the brain before it develops into a seizure. Aside from just epilepsy, the researchers believe that this new, innovative technology could be used to delivery treatments for a number of neurological conditions that currently seem daunting to treat with traditional means (bit.ly/1CnqAd9). — Sean McGuire

Reference:

1.     Khodagholy D, et al. In vivo recordings of brain activity using organic transistors. Nat. Commun. 2013;4:1575.