Short Stories of Medical Research

Artificial Neurones

Artificial Neurones have been developed to provide new methods for treating neurological disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease. Neurones carry signals in the form of electrical impulses throughout our bodies. Neurodegeneration is the cause of many neurological diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, motor neurone disease and Huntington’s disease. 

A research team in the University of Bath is attempting to transfer electrical impulses from brain cells to synthetic circuits made from silicon on a chip. The silicon neurones model biological ion channels, enabling progression of an action potential. Additionally, the synthetic neurones require very little power, making them well suited for bio-electronic implants to treat chronic disease. 

These artificial neurones could enable the development of smart pacemakers, which won’t simply stimulate a steady heart rate, but would actually respond to the real time demands of the heart, just like a healthy heart would. 

The New Contraceptive Pill 

A new once a month contraceptive pill has been developed. This is ingested and designed to resist immediate breakdown by stomach acid. It remains in the stomach until fully broken down after several weeks. Whilst in the stomach, the new pill slowly releases anti-pregnancy hormones, namely oestrogen and progesterone, much like the current pills available. These hormone treatments may work by preventing ovulation, thinning the uteral wall, and thickening the cervical mucus. 

This new technology aims to increase the effectiveness of the pill. The current contraceptive pill is 99% effective, however, it is easy for a woman to forget taking a daily dose or for her to take the pill at the wrong time, which significantly reduces efficacy. Providing a monthly alternative may result in better results in terms of efficacy. 

Antibiotic Resistance and Tuberculosis 

Antimicrobial resistance is a global crisis. Random mutations in the DNA of bacteria can give rise to genes that confer resistance to a particular antibiotic. These antibiotic resistance genes are found in plasmid DNA. They can be passed on to the next generation by conjugation, generating a growing colony of antibiotic resistant bacteria that can infect another person. It is predicted that by 2050, drug resistant infections could kill 10 million people annually unless serious action is taken. Antibiotic resistance is becoming an increasingly growing concern for the practitioner and antibiotic prescriptions are hence decreasing. 

Mycobacterium tuberculosis is a bacterium that infects the lungs, causing Tuberculosis (TB). This leads to fevers, coughing up of blood, weight loss and widespread musculoskeletal weakness and can be deadly. Tuberculosis infection can be detected on lung CT scans as a white, cloudy region. Drug resistance mutations in M. tuberculosis have resulted in a multi drug resistant strain of the bacterium being as prevalent as 40% in some countries.  These strains are not more virulent, nonetheless the increased difficulty in treating them can lead to complications and a higher fatality rate. 

A typical solution to antibiotic resistance is combination therapy, where two or more drugs are used simultaneously to ensure the bacteria are killed. However, these multi drug resistant strains of M. tuberculosis are resistant to two of the main drugs used to treat TB. A new antibiotic called pretomanid has recently been approved as an effective treatment against multi-drug resistant tuberculosis, giving it the potential to save many lives in the future. 

 Inherited Cardiac Arrhythmia 

Arrhythmia is a condition that causes an irregular heartbeat. When the heart beats too fast, it’s known as tachycardia, and when it beats too slowly it’s called a bradycardia. Many arrhythmias are harmless. However, if they are particularly abnormal or result from a weak or damaged heart, arrhythmias can cause serious and potentially fatal symptoms. 

Hereditary arrhythmia is detected in more than half of all initially unexplained cases of sudden cardiac death in young persons. The latest research has lead to the discovery of the gene that causes autosomal dominant ventricular tachycardia. Animal models have now been developed to understand arrhythmia. Scientists are attempting to use RNA interference in order to correct the consequences of the molecular defect in gene therapy. 

Novel immunotherapies in rheumatoid arthritis 

Newest research on how to cure Rheumatoid Arthritis has gone into the design of small immunosuppressants that inhibit JAK kinase. These have shown significant improvement of symptoms in clinical trials. JAK kinases are signalling proteins involved in the activation cascade that leads to secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as TNFα or interleukins, by immune cells. These cytokines play an active role in signalling inflammation. Therefore, JAK kinase inhibitors can reduce the inflammatory symptoms of rheumatic disease.