A new method for those suffering from movement disorders can bring a ‘healing light’ to the brain

Scientists are discovering a method for wireless modulation of neurons with X-rays that could improve the lives of patients with brain disorders. The X-ray source is just as necessary as the machine found in the dentist’s office fee.

Many people around the world suffer from movement-related brain disorders. Epilepsy accounts for more than 50 million; Essential vibration, 40 million; And Parkinson’s disease, 10 million.

U.S. One day relief may come one day for brain disorder sufferers in the form of a new treatment discovered by researchers from the Department of Energy (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory and four universities. Treatment is based on both optics and the development of heredity. It will apply not only to movement-related brain disorders, but also to severe depression and pain.

This new treatment involves stimulation by injected nanoparticles of neurons inside the brain that are released when in contact with X-rays (nanosyntilators) and will eliminate the invasive brain surgery currently in use.

“Our high-precision nonvansive approach can be regularized using a small X-ray machine, which is commonly found in dental dental fissures,” said Elena Rozkova, a lead author and nanoscientist at Argo’s Center for Nanoscale Materials (CNM). , Science User Feature DOE Office Fees.

Disorders of conventional deep brain stimulation require an invasive neurosurgical procedure when conventional drug therapy is not an option. U.S. In a traditional procedure approved by the Food and Drug Administration, surgeons place a calibrated pulse generator under the skin (similar to a pacemaker). It then connects to the insulated extension cord with electrodes inserted into a specific area of ​​the brain to stimulate the surrounding neurons and control abnormal impulses.

Vasily Tyatsarev, a neurobiologist at the University of Maryland and co-author of the study, said: Stopped. “

About 15 years ago, scientists introduced a revolutionary neuromodulation technique, “op-pathogenetics”, which relies on the genetic modification of certain neurons in the brain. These neurons form a light-sensitive ion channel in the brain and, from there, ignite in response to external laser light. This approach, however, requires very thin fibroptic wires implanted in the brain and suffers from the limited depth of penetration of laser light through biological tissues.

The team’s alternative to pathogenetics approach uses a nanosynthetizer injected into the brain by bypassing implantable electrodes or fibroptic wires. Instead of lasers, they substitute X-rays, due to their greater ability to pass through biological tissue barriers.

“Injected nanoparticles absorb X-ray energy radiation and convert it into red light, which has a significantly higher penetration depth than blue light,” said Zhao Chen, CNM Posted to Ctrl.

“Thus, nanoparticles serve as an internal light source that operates our system without wires or electrodes,” Rozkova added. The team’s approach can stimulate both targeting and stimulating small areas, so Rozkova noted that it has applications other than brain disorders. For example, it can be applied to heart problems and other damaged muscles.

One of the keys to the team’s success was the connection between the two world-class facilities at Argonne: CNM. And the DOE Office Fee of the Argonne Advanced Photon Source (APS), a science user facility. Work on these features began with the synthesis and multi-tool characterization of nanosyntilators. In particular, X-ray excited optical luminescence of nanoparticle samples was determined on the APS beamline (20-bm). The results showed that the particles were extremely stable during months and upon repeated exposure to high-intensity X-rays.

“They were shining a beautiful orange-red light,” said Zoo Finfrock, a staff scientist at APS 20-Beam Beamline and Canadian Light Source.

Next, Argo sent a CNM-manufactured nanosyntilator to the University of Maryland for rat tests. A team from the University of Maryland performed the tests in two months with a small portable X-ray machine. The results proved that the process worked as planned. To respond to the red light to respond to X-ray pulses with brain waves recorded on an electroencephalogram, whose brains were genetically modified.

Eventually, a team from the University of Maryland sent Ergo to the animal’s brain for characteristics using X-ray fluorescence microscopy performed by scientists. This analysis was performed by Olga Antipova on the microprobe beamline (2-ID-E) at APS and by Zongou Kai on the hard X-ray nanoprob (26-ID) jointly operated by CNM and APS.

This multi-instrument configuration made it possible to see tiny particles living in a complex environment of brain tissue with a super-resolution of dozens of nanometers. It also allowed visualization of near and far neurons from the injection site on a microscale. The results proved that the nanocontroller is chemically and biologically stable. They do not deviate or degrade from the injection site.

Antipova, a physicist from APS’s X-ray Science Division (XSD), said sample preparation is crucial in this type of biological analysis. Antiopova was assisted by Kiaoling Jin and Xueli Liu, who designed jeweler-like precision brain sections just a few micrometers thick.

“There is a sharp level of professional interest in op pathogenetics for medical application,” Rozkova said. “Still, at the stage of proof of imagination, we predict that our patent-pending wireless approach to small X-ray machines should have a bright future.”

Related article “Wireless to pathogenetic modulation of cortical neurons enabled by radioluminescent nanoparticles” ACS Nano.