Device Enables Man with SCI to Control Objects with Thoughts
The journal Nature recently reported that scientists at Brown University in Rhode Island have successfully enabled an individual with spinal cord injury (SCI) to control objects cognitively using a sensor implanted in his brain.
Previous research with brain implants had succeeded in enabling users to move a cursor on a computer screen horizontally, but, John P. Donoghue, a professor of neuroscience at Brown University and co-founder of Cyberkinetics Neurotechnology Systems of Foxborough, Massachusetts, was the first to lead a team of researchers in advancing control beyond horizontal cursor movement.
Donoghue implanted electrodes into the brain of Matthew Nagle, a 25 year-old man who is paralyzed below the shoulders, and connected them to the BrainGateâ„¢ Neural Interface System, a system developed by Cyberkinetics. Through his thoughts, Nagle was able to control a computer cursor, to open his email, play a video game, operate a television, and move objects with a robotic arm.
BrainGate, which Donoghue helped create, consists of a sensor implanted on the motor cortex region of the brain and a device that analyzes brain signals. According to Cyberkinetics, the principle operation of the system is that with intact brain function, brain signals are generated even though they are not sent to the arms, hands, and legs. Therefore, these signals can still be interpreted and translated into cursor movements, offering users, such as those with SCI, an alternate pathway to control a computer with thought, just as individuals who have the ability to move their hands use a mouse to move a cursor.
Nagle is the first person with SCI to receive the implants. Some researchers are optimistic that neuroprosthetic systems like BrainGate, which are still in their infancy, may one day lead to restoring limb function in people with SCI.
To read the full article from Nature, visit www.nature.com/nature/journal/v442/n7099/full/442109a.html.
MS Drug Tysabriâ„¢ Return Heavily Restricted
The controversial drug Tysabriâ„¢, used to reduce the frequency of flare-ups experienced by patients with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), was recently re-approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and will make its return to the US market under a special restricted distribution program. Tysabri (natalizumab), a product of Biogen Idec and Elan Pharmaceuticals, was initially approved by the FDA in November 2004, but withdrawn by the manufacturers in February 2005 after three patients in the drug’s clinical trials developed progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML), a serious and rare viral infection of the brain.
To prevent the possibility of patients with MS developing PML in the future, the drug’s manufacturers submitted a Risk Management Plan to the FDA called the TOUCH Prescribing Program, to help ensure safe usage of Tysabri. The new usage guidelines include:
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• The drug will only be prescribed, distributed, and infused by prescribers, infusion centers, and pharmacies registered with the program.
• Tysabri will only be administered to patients who are enrolled in the program.
• Prior to initiating the therapy, health care professionals are to obtain the patient’s Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scan to help differentiate potential future MS symptoms from PML.
• Patients on Tysabri are to be evaluated at 3 and 6 months after the first infusion and every 6 months after that, and their status will be reported regularly to Biogen Idec.
For more information, visit www.fda.gov/cder/drug/infopage/natalizumab/default.htm.
New Joint Effort to Fight Spina Bifida Among Hispanic Population
The Spina Bifida Association (SBA), the National Council of La Raza (NCLR), Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., and GRUMA S.A. de C.V., recently announced their goal of reducing the incidence of spina bifida by helping increase the intake of folic acid among women.
As part of this joint initiative, GRUMA, one of the world’s largest producers of corn flour and tortillas, has begun researching and conducting product testing with the goal of enriching its corn products with folic acid, which can reduce the risk of spina bifida by as much as 70%, in the U.S. by the end of 2006. Imported corn flours—unlike most other flour and cereal products—are currently not required by law to be enriched with folic acid.
The partnership primarily targets the growing Hispanic community in the U.S., the highest risk group for spina bifida, but the least likely to consume folic acid. Each year, approximately 3,000 pregnancies are affected by spina bifida or other neural tube defects (NTDs); of these, about 850 are among Hispanics. Research indicates that Hispanic women in the US have from 1.5 to 2 times higher risk of delivering babies with neural tube defects than non-Hispanic Whites. “We applaud the efforts being made to provide and supply corn flour fortified with folic acid in the United States,” said Dr. Jose Cordero, Assistant Surgeon General and director of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities. “Since fortification of most wheat flour began in 1998, about 1,000 babies are born free from spina bifida and other NTDs each year. Expanding fortification to corn flour will help protect the lives of even more babies.”
For more information, please download www.sbaa.org/site/DocServer/prescription_folic_acid.pdf?docID=825 or visit www.sbaa.org/site/.
Spinal Cord Regeneration Study Shows Promise
A research project highlighted in The Journal of Neuroscience demonstrated the successful regeneration of spinal cord nerve endings in a spinal cord injured lab animal. John Houle, professor of neurobiology and anatomy at Drexel University College of Medicine, transplanted a nerve from the animal’s leg across the spinal cord injury. In combination with enzyme digestion of scar material, Houle was able to regenerate spinal nerve endings leading to the recovery of the animal’s arm function.
“This study represents a major milestone in the battle to return spinal cord injury patients to a state of mobility,” said Houle. “However there is still a lot of work to be done to adapt this procedure to human use.”
For more information, visit www.upi.com/NewsTrack/view.php?StoryID=20060713-040118-3648r.
Link Between Diabetes and MS Discovered
A Danish study reported in the Archives of Neurology demonstrates that individuals with type-1 diabetes have a three-fold increased risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS) compared to non-diabetic people.
The study was undertaken by Dr. Nete M. Nielsen and his colleagues from the Statens Serum Institut in Copenhagen, who conducted over a decade of research evaluating the emergence of MS in 6,078 patients with type-1 diabetes.
In addition, researchers studied the presence of type-1 diabetes in 14,771 first-degree relatives of 11,862 patients with MS. They discovered that first-degree relatives of patients with MS had a 44% increased risk of developing type-1 diabetes.
“To our knowledge, the present study is the first truly nationwide cohort study to demonstrate intraindividual and, to a lesser degree, intrafamilial co-occurrence of MS and type 1 diabetes,” the investigators concluded.
Neuroscientist Awarded for SCI Research
Dr. Stephen Davies, assistant professor of neurosurgery at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, was presented with the Erica Nader Award, given every year in recognition of breakthrough research by an investigator in the field of SCI research, for his outstanding contributions to the advancement of SCI repair.
The prize was awarded for Davies’ 2004 published findings on a molecule called decorin, which was shown to suppress scar formation and promote nerve fiber regeneration when infused into SCIs in rats.
“The competitive nature of modern medical research is such that new ideas are often met with a great deal of opposition, so it is particularly uplifting and gratifying to receive such a prestigious award from my scientific peers,” said Davies. “It is my hope that our work on spinal cord injury will pave the way for future applications of this technology in promoting tissue repair in not only the nervous system but throughout the human body.”
To read the full press release, please visit www.bcm.edu/news/item.cfm?NewsID=659.
