Researchers in Canada using mice, have developed a device which holds the potential to improve the treatment of debilitating brain conditions.

Some diseases of the brain, such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, result in an irreversible loss of neurons, but the current methods of stimulating specific cells (neural precursor cells or NPCs) to generate new neurons lack precision and can also damage brain tissue.

To address this, a team at the University of Toronto – which has recently joined EARA as our 200th member – designed an electrode made of materials that naturally dissolve in the body and do not cause damage or inflammation, which can be safely implanted into the brains of mice. 

The device then gave electrical stimulation to the brain, and the researchers saw that it successfully delivered this stimulation specifically to NPCs for up to a week, before degrading with no harmful effects.

Lead author Cindi Morshead said: “Our plan is to further develop this technology by creating multimodal, biodegradable electrodes that can deliver drugs and gene therapies to the injured brain.”