Therapies without drugs

Pills and meds are being replaced by chips and bids.

With the advancement of science the world is being changed everyday and the new day is much better than the previous one. Advances in medical sciences help people to cure their diseases and to maintain a good health. All of us know that drugs are used for therapies but it’s time to introduce therapies without drugs. 

Treatment of diseases with micro implants by stimulating nerve cells is a novel method in medical field and it is an advancement to make possible therapies without drugs. Let’s know why is this treatment so appealing and which challenges are in the way to practice this method. 

Women around the world are found to be suffering from weak bladders at some point of age in their lives and the ratio of this issue is about every one woman from four women. To treat this condition the main focus is implied on pelvic floor exercises, specialized pace makers, drugs and at the last surgical interventions. 

In the advanced technology a past idea is utilized to cure the diseases. The idea is that electric impulses can help certain parts of the human body to do what they are meant to do, when and where they are needed.

Vasiliki Giagka, a leading scientist in working on this concept explains that electronic implants can block unwanted signals as well as they can release interrupted signals, these implants can be used to send signals in different places in the body. A tiny bio electric implant can be used to help those patients who have lost the ability to control their bladder function, this bioelectric implant will monitor the bladder function and will send a signal when the patient needs to use toilet. It is also used to prevent unintentional emptying of bladder by stimulating damaged nerve.

Giagka’s team is working with other researchers to make this possible at university of Delft. Their working is to produce flexible, miniature and durable electronic implants. They also have to make a dedicated sensor for monitoring the patient’s bladder, which can transmit data to its destination wirelessly and it’s a massive challenge because human body is not the ideal location for transmitting data with its organs and body fluids. The implants are recharged by ultrasonic waves which stimulates tiny elastic resonators in the implants, the necessary power is obtained by the transformation of the movement of the elastic bodies. 

There is another idea that these micro implants can directly engage with nerve cells through electrodes which use electronic impulses and stimulate some physiological responses. To produce a new feedback loop between nerves and implants, the flexible electrodes are connected to micro chips having the thickness of 10 micrometers. This can also help to produce a local and customized treatment for each patient. The scientists and researchers are being use only materials which are fully biocompatible such as precious metals, polymers and silicon to avoid body’s rejection of the foreign object.

A term electroceutics is used for this idea because these miniature electronics will replace the traditional pharmaceutics. Pills and meds are being replaced by chips and bids. This idea is a pathway towards new therapeutic techniques and minimizes the harmful side effects. The target is to cure other diseases such as asthma, Parkinson’s disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, migraines etc. this list will be widen by further research and finally the scientists will be able to say that pills and meds are being replaced by chips and bids.

It’s not an easy task as Giagka says that I don’t know when it is possible to start a first clinic trial. She said that they are developing new testing techniques to check the implant’s reliability. To miniaturize and optimize the stimulators is also in their task list. It is also a challenge to produce durable micro stimulators as they have to remain in the body for several years. The team is working to decrease the size of electroceutics to less than a cubic centimeter.

The scientists are also working to increase the working life of these electroceutics. They are testing these implants with humidity, changing temperatures and electromagnetic pulses to increase the life expectancy during use of these electroceutics.

Vas Giagka has established working groups in different regions of the world in Europe, United States and also in Asia to promote the idea that The pills and meds are being replaced by chips and bids. Giagka and her coworker hope that the time is not far when they will apply the idea therapies without drugs to patients.

Thanks for reading 

Like, share and comment my blog.