Taking your
daily meds could look a lot different in the future. Researchers at Washington
University in St. Louis have created a wireless device that can be implanted in
the brain and controlled with a remote to deliver drugs. The researchers
successfully implanted the device, into mice for the first time recently, but
the technology could one day be used in humans to treat depression, pain,
epilepsy and other neurological disorders, according to a statement on the
university's website.
The implantable
device works by delivering light or drugs to certain parts of the brain. By
using targeted drugs that are only delivered to certain regions of the brain,
side effects from drugs could potentially become much less severe. The
implanted device, which is soft like brain tissue, has four chambers that can
deliver drugs with the push of a button. The device can also be used to
activate certain brain cells by using flashes of light, triggered by the
remote.
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