Using magnetized neurons to treat Parkinson’s disease symptoms

“Researchers [at Yonsei University in Seoul], report in ACS’ Nano Letters a new application for the technique, called magnetogenetics,  that uses very small magnets to wirelessly trigger specific, gene-edited nerve cells in the brain. The treatment effectively relieved motor symptoms in mice without damaging surrounding brain tissue.  . . . .   For their wireless technique, the researchers tagged nanoscale magnets with antibodies to help the molecules “stick” to the surface of STN [i.e. subthalamic nucleus] nerve cells. Then they injected the sticky magnets into the brains of mice with early- and late-stage Parkinson’s disease. Prior to the injection in the STN, those same nerve cells had been modified with a gene that caused them to activate when the modified magnets on the cell’s surface twisted in reaction to an externally applied magnetic field of about 25 milliteslas, which is about one- thousandth the strength of an MRI.”    MORE

Image Credit: Phys.org