(May 18, 2015) A
Florida International University professor and his team this month published
news of a scientific breakthrough that could lead to the noninvasive treatment
of Parkinson’s and other neurodegenerative diseases.
Researchers remotely manipulated the electric waves that
naturally exist in the brains of mice, a feat that has far-reaching
implications for medicine.
Using a previously reported FIU-patented technology,
researchers began by intravenously administering magneto-electric
nanoparticles, or MENs, in mice. With a magnet placed over the head of each
subject animal, the particles were pulled through the blood-brain barrier,
where they “coupled” the externally created magnetic field with the brain’s
intrinsic electric field. This enabled researchers to wirelessly connect their
computers and electronics to neurons deep within the brain.