In a medical breakthrough that offers new
hope to people with spinal cord injuries,
scientists have used a brain implant to
enable partially paralyzed monkeys to
regain the ability to walk. Researchers at
the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology
implanted the device in the monkey’s
motor cortex, or movement center, where
it recorded neural activity. This data was
then wirelessly routed to a second implant
placed on the spinal
cord beyond
the injured nerves,
which triggered the
intended movements.
Two monkeys
fitted with this
“brain-spine
interface” system
regained the ability to walk within days,
and were fully mobile after three months.
“It was a big surprise for us,” Grégoire
Courtine, a neuroscientist who led the
research, tells The Guardian (U.K.). “The
gait was not perfect, but it was almost like
normal walking. The foot was not dragging
and it was fully weight-bearing.” The
implant’s components—which took seven
years to develop, after 10 years of work on
rodents—are already approved for use in
humans. But helping monkeys walk using
four limbs is much less challenging than
enabling paralyzed people to balance and
walk on two legs. Nevertheless, researchers
believe the technology could be transferred
to humans within a decade.
Supercharging statins
Statins have become the “gold standard”
for the treatment of high cholesterol—and
a new type of drug known as PCSK9
inhibitors could make them even better. In
a recent study, researchers split a group of
968 volunteers into two groups: one tak
Statins have become the “gold standard”
for the treatment of high cholesterol—and
a new type of drug known as PCSK9
inhibitors could make them even better. In
a recent study, researchers split a group of
968 volunteers into two groups: one taking
only a statin, the other combining the
drug with evolocumab, a PCSK9 inhibitor.
After 18 months, the team measured
the participants’ levels of LDL, or “bad
cholesterol.” Anything below 100 milligrams
per deciliter of blood is considered
excellent, and those who were taking only
a statin averaged an impressive 93 mg/dL.
But those taking a combination of the two
drugs averaged an astonishing 36 mg/dL
of LDL—an ultralow level generally seen
only in babies. “In a sense,” says cardiologist
Elliott Antman, who wasn’t associated
with the study, “you are turning back
the cardiovascular clock.” These striking
reductions came with an added benefit,
reports Reuters.com: greater declines in
dangerous plaques that had accumulated
in the patients’ arteries. Plaques shrank in
two-thirds of those taking both drugs, but
in only half of those taking a statin alone.
The only downside of PCSK9 inhibitors is
their cost: With some prescriptions priced
at $14,000 a year, most insurers are refusing
to pay for them.
for the treatment of high cholesterol—and
a new type of drug known as PCSK9
inhibitors could make them even better. In
a recent study, researchers split a group of
968 volunteers into two groups: one tak
Statins have become the “gold standard”
for the treatment of high cholesterol—and
a new type of drug known as PCSK9
inhibitors could make them even better. In
a recent study, researchers split a group of
968 volunteers into two groups: one taking
only a statin, the other combining the
drug with evolocumab, a PCSK9 inhibitor.
After 18 months, the team measured
the participants’ levels of LDL, or “bad
cholesterol.” Anything below 100 milligrams
per deciliter of blood is considered
excellent, and those who were taking only
a statin averaged an impressive 93 mg/dL.
But those taking a combination of the two
drugs averaged an astonishing 36 mg/dL
of LDL—an ultralow level generally seen
only in babies. “In a sense,” says cardiologist
Elliott Antman, who wasn’t associated
with the study, “you are turning back
the cardiovascular clock.” These striking
reductions came with an added benefit,
reports Reuters.com: greater declines in
dangerous plaques that had accumulated
in the patients’ arteries. Plaques shrank in
two-thirds of those taking both drugs, but
in only half of those taking a statin alone.
The only downside of PCSK9 inhibitors is
their cost: With some prescriptions priced
at $14,000 a year, most insurers are refusing
to pay for them.
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