Brain inflammation can negatively influence neurodegenerative diseases
Inflammation and dysregulation of protein and gene expression is thought to play a critical role in multiple diseases, including neurodegenerative disease, traumatic brain injury, aging, Schizophrenia, and autism, among others. Identification of new methods to rapidly, precisely, and non-invasively, control brain inflammation and protein and gene expression would radically transform our ability to study brain functions, treat diseases, and promote healthy aging.
New method to rapidly control diverse cellular functions in the brain non-invasively
Inventors at Georgia Tech have discovered that precise driving of neural activity can be used as a novel method to rapidly and transiently stimulate central pathways in neurons which regulate diverse cellular functions in multiple cell types of the brain. These pathways control production of factors that promote neuronal health, synaptic plasticity, and healthy immune activity. Importantly, this manipulation can be done non-invasively. This will lead to controlling the brain’s neural and immune responses by driving neural activity non-invasively, and could be used to treat many brain diseases, brain injury, infection, and the effects of normal brain aging.
- Faster – 5-30 minutes versus hours
- Non-invasive
- Targeted treatment for different conditions
- Treat neurological conditions such as:
- Cognitive loss with normal aging
- Alzheimer’s disease
- Schizophrenia
- Autism
- Infection
- Epilepsy
- Depression and anxiety disorders
- Other disorders that involve inflammatory signaling, the brain’s immune response, and neural activity