New brain implant could rewire stroke rehab
Why it matters: If this works, it could reshape rehabilitation for the 800,000 Americans who have a stroke each year — and the millions already disabled by one.
State of play: The device, developed by German neurotech company CorTec GmbH, was implanted last week in a 52-year-old man whose strokes have severely limited his mobility, according to UW Medicine.
Doctors hope electrical pulses delivered to his brain during rehab will rewire neural circuits and improve function.
The five-year study is funded by the National Institutes of Health's National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.
How it works: The device consists of two soft, flexible sheets embedded with tiny electrodes that are placed on the surface of the brain's motor cortex, the area responsible for movement, per UW Medicine.
During rehab, the electrodes deliver precisely timed electrical pulses to stimulate brain activity when the patient attempts to move.
This stimulation is designed to strengthen surviving neural pathways and help the brain form new connections to restore lost function.
What they're saying: Stroke patients often recover some, but not all, function, said Jeffrey Ojemann, study co-lead and vice chair of neurological surgery at the UW School of Medicine.
"We want to see whether by stimulating the brain during rehabilitation sessions we can help them regain more function," Ojemann said.
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Boston Globe
7 minutes ago
- Boston Globe
Harvard was planning to distribute 100 air conditioners to Boston residents. Then came the Trump funding freeze.
For someone like Brown, who suffers from a lung disease that makes it hard to breathe, it's more than just miserable; it's also a health risk. Advertisement One hundred Boston residents were supposed to receive a window unit as early as June as part of a Harvard University study of making air conditioning more widely accessible, especially to those with medical conditions, as summers grow hotter and more humid. But as part of its far-reaching assault on the university, the Trump administration rescinded the money for the project. As a result, some residents, including Brown, received their units late, while others won't get them at all. Related : 'It really breaks my heart that yesterday was the day that folks could have really benefited from already having an air conditioner,' Gary Adamkiewicz, the project's leader and an associate professor of environmental health at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, said in June, one day after temperatures hit 102 degrees. 'I was praying that the first heatwave in Boston would hold off until mid-July.' Advertisement As the Trump administration erased $3 billion in federal funding to Harvard this year as punishment for what it calls liberal bias and an alleged failure to protect Jewish students from antisemitism, the public health school was especially hard hit. The school depends on the federal government for 40 percent of its budget, and Washington's actions have upended the work of researchers, slowing or stopping projects that reach into the day-to-day lives of Americans trying to improve their situation in the most basic ways. 'People think of research as this ivory tower thing, just to learn for the sake of learning,' said Jonathan Levy, chair of the environmental health department at the Boston University School of Public Health, who was not involved in the Harvard study. 'But these are practical projects to help the most vulnerable in society.' Harvard has sued the Trump administration over the funding cuts, and a decision in the case is pending after oral arguments last week. Should the decision favor Harvard, the Trump administration likely will appeal. Other studies focused on the health of Bostonians were also hit. Dr. Mary Rice, a pulmonologist and director of the public health school's Center for Climate Health, and the Global Environment lost $750,000 for the final year of a five-year grant to study Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, or COPD. She enrolled 180 residents in the Boston area with COPD in a randomized clinical trial testing whether air purifiers protect them from harmful pollution, which can cause fatal asthma-like attacks in people with the illness. Advertisement The elaborate project included installing real air purifiers in half the homes and sham ones in the other half to allow for a robust comparison. Rice was not going to give up easily. She raised enough through bridge grants offered by Harvard to finish the study, but still does not have enough money to analyze blood and nasal fluid samples from participants to look for biomarkers of pollution exposure and inflammatory responses. She will store the samples in a freezer while she tries to raise additional funds. 'I have put so much energy into this study,' she said. 'I am trying to find a way.' Adamkiewicz's air conditioner study was part of a $3.75-million three-year grant that also included two other heat-related projects. The plan is for half of the participants to get air conditioning units this summer and half next summer, allowing researchers to compare the two groups. Participants, who must be ages 55 to 95, will fill out questionnaires about their health, documenting symptoms and doctors visits, and sensors will record the temperature and humidity in their homes. After several delays, Adamkiewicz scraped together enough money to move forward with a scaled back version of the project for 60 city residents, some of whom live in public housing, others in private residences. But the two other heat-related projects were canceled entirely: one to paint the roofs of 32 homes in South Africa white to see if that lowers indoor temperatures and improves residents' health; the second in Madagascar to open cooling centers that include freezers for fish, a diet staple that spoils faster in extreme temperatures. Given Boston's older housing stock, many people live without central air conditioning, and that is especially true for subsidized housing, most of which was built between the 1930s and 1960s. Of the roughly 10,000 units owned by the Boston Housing Authority, just 250 have ductless mini-splits that provide heating and cooling. Advertisement Brian Jordan, spokesman for the BHA, said Mayor Wu's administration is moving to install mini-splits in units as it upgrades properties over time. But this costly undertaking will take years. Meanwhile, he said, all the agency's developments for the elderly and the disabled have air-conditioned community rooms. Residents are responsible for buying their own window units. Jordan said the agency doesn't track how many residents have air conditioners, but said the vast majority do. Brown, who lives the Franklin Fields complex, said some of his neighbors do not have air conditioning . Lawrence Brown's window unit. David L Ryan/ Globe Staff 'Some people are suffering,' said Brown, wiping his forehead with a t-shirt as he sat in a nearby park, the day before his unit was installed. Brown said he could not afford to buy his own air conditioner and that he has dealt with high temperatures by taking four or five showers a day, staying with his girlfriend in her air-conditioned apartment, and wading in the ocean near Savin Hill Park. Brown, who has COPD, uses his inhaler more often in extreme heat. 'There are times when I feel like I'm suffocating,' he said. 'I can't breathe, so I would try to come outside where maybe there was a cool breeze or something.' At the Boston Housing Authority's Heritage development in East Boston, many of the elderly and disabled residents cannot afford air conditioning units, said Adam Amodeo, whose 68-year-old uncle lives there. 'It boils down to how much money you have,' he said. Advertisement Affordability is a key aspect of Adamkiewicz's study. Those who get their units this year and live in private housing will receive a $100 subsidy for electricity; next summer there will be no subsidy. Public housing residents don't pay for their own electricity. Researchers plan to compare air conditioner use among the different groups to see if the cost of electricity is an obstacle, or whether the cost and difficult installation is the main problem. 'We're trying to build the knowledge base so we could do something bigger going forward,' Adamkiewicz said. On July 17, Brown became one of the lucky residents to receive a window air conditioning unit in his apartment But 40 other vulnerable residents will have lost the chance to join the study. On Monday, another hot, humid day, Brown was asked how he was doing in his newly outfitted apartment. 'Are you kidding me?' he replied. 'I am in Disney Land.' Globe correspondent Jade Lozada contributed reporting. Liz Kowalczyk can be reached at
24 minutes ago
NIH cuts spotlight a hidden crisis facing patients with experimental brain implants
Carol Seeger finally escaped her debilitating depression with an experimental treatment that placed electrodes in her brain and a pacemaker-like device in her chest. But when its batteries stopped working, insurance wouldn't pay to fix the problem and she sank back into a dangerous darkness. She worried for her life, asking herself: 'Why am I putting myself through this?' Seeger's predicament highlights a growing problem for hundreds of people with experimental neural implants, including those for depression, quadriplegia and other conditions. Although these patients take big risks to advance science, there's no guarantee that their devices will be maintained — particularly after they finish participating in clinical trials — and no mechanism requiring companies or insurers to do so. A research project led by Gabriel Lázaro-Muñoz, a Harvard University scientist, aimed to change that by creating partnerships between players in the burgeoning implant field to overcome barriers to device access and follow-up care. But the cancellation of hundreds of National Institutes of Health grants by the Trump administration this year left the project in limbo, dimming hope for Seeger and others like her who wonder what will happen to their health and progress. Unlike medications, implanted devices often require parts, maintenance, batteries and surgeries when changes are needed. Insurance typically covers such expenses for federally approved devices considered medically necessary, but not experimental ones. A procedure to replace a battery alone can cost more than $15,000 without insurance, Lázaro-Muñoz said. While companies stand to profit from research, 'there's really nothing that helps ensure that device manufacturers have to provide any of these parts or cover any kind of maintenance,' said Lázaro-Muñoz. Some companies also move on to newer versions of devices or abandon the research altogether, which can leave patients in an uncertain place. Medtronic, the company that made the deep brain stimulation, or DBS, technology Seeger used, said in a statement that every study is different and that the company puts patient safety first when considering care after studies end. People consider various possibilities when they join a clinical trial. The Food and Drug Administration requires the informed consent process to include a description of 'reasonably foreseeable risks and discomforts to the participant,' a spokesperson said. However, the FDA doesn't require trial plans to include procedures for long-term device follow-up and maintenance, although the spokesperson stated that the agency has requested those in the past. While some informed consent forms say devices will be removed at a study's end, Lázaro-Muñoz said removal is ethically problematic when a device is helping a patient. Plus, he said, some trial participants told him and his colleagues that they didn't remember everything discussed during the consent process, partly because they were so focused on getting better. Brandy Ellis, a 49-year-old in Boynton Beach, Florida, said she was desperate for healing when she joined a trial testing the same treatment Seeger got, which delivers an electrical current into the brain to treat severe depression. She was willing to sign whatever forms were necessary to get help after nothing else had worked. 'I was facing death,' she said. 'So it was most definitely consent at the barrel of a gun, which is true for a lot of people who are in a terminal condition.' Ellis and Seeger, 64, both turned to DBS as a last resort after trying many approved medications and treatments. 'I got in the trial fully expecting it not to work because nothing else had. So I was kind of surprised when it did,' said Ellis, whose device was implanted in 2011 at Emory University in Atlanta. 'I am celebrating every single milestone because I'm like: This is all bonus life for me.' She's now on her third battery. She needed surgery to replace two single-use ones, and the one she has now is rechargeable. She's lucky her insurance has covered the procedures, she said, but she worries it may not in the future. 'I can't count on any coverage because there's nothing that says even though I've had this and it works, that it has to be covered under my commercial or any other insurance,' said Ellis, who advocates for other former trial participants. Even if companies still make replacement parts for older devices, she added, 'availability and accessibility are entirely different things,' given most people can't afford continued care without insurance coverage. Seeger, whose device was implanted in 2012 at Emory, said she went without a working device for around four months when the insurance coverage her wife's job at Emory provided wouldn't pay for battery replacement surgery. Neither would Medicare, which generally only covers DBS for FDA-approved uses. With her research team at Emory advocating for her, Seeger ultimately got financial help from the hospital's indigent care program and paid a few thousand dollars out of pocket. She now has a rechargeable battery, and the device has been working well. But at any point, she said, that could change. Lázaro-Muñoz hoped his work would protect people like Seeger and Ellis. 'We should do whatever we can as a society to be able to help them maintain their health,' he said. Lázaro-Muñoz's project received about $987,800 from the National Institute of Mental Health in the 2023 and 2024 fiscal years and was already underway when he was notified of the NIH funding cut in May. He declined to answer questions about it. Ellis said any delay in addressing the thorny issues around experimental brain devices hurts patients. Planning at the beginning of a clinical trial about how to continue treatment and maintain devices, she said, would be much better than depending on the kindness of researchers and the whims of insurers. 'If this turns off, I get sick again. Like, I'm not cured,' she said. 'This is a treatment that absolutely works, but only as long as I've got a working device.' ____
Business Wire
an hour ago
- Business Wire
Guardant Health and James Van Der Beek Team Up to Raise Awareness About New Advances in Colorectal Cancer Screening for Adults 45+
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Today marks the first time he is speaking out about the critical importance of staying up to date with CRC screening guidelines. 'I was 46 years old, in great physical shape, and had no idea I was living with stage 3 colorectal cancer. It's the second most deadly cancer, but the most curable when caught in its early stages, making screening crucial,' said Van Der Beek. 'I was relieved to learn about Guardant's Shield blood test because it's a more pleasant and convenient way to get screened, especially for those who've been hesitating. I've learned a lot on my cancer journey, but I wouldn't wish this on anyone. Simply put, getting screened can save your life. If you're 45 or older, make sure you talk to your doctor about screening guidelines and your options.' CRC is a significant health concern with over 50,000 Americans dying from the disease each year, making it the second most deadly cancer in the U.S. Early detection is crucial, as the five-year survival rate is over 90% when CRC is caught in its early stages, but plummets to 13% in late stages when symptoms usually appear. Despite these odds, more than 50 million people – one in three American adults age 45 and over – avoid screening in part because traditional methods are viewed as unpleasant or inconvenient. 'We are grateful to James for the work he has done to raise awareness with his personal story that shows the importance of screening and early detection,' said AmirAli Talasaz, Guardant Health co-CEO. 'Our goal is to ensure that everyone who should be screened for colorectal cancer gets screened – and the Shield blood test is a major step forward in making screening more convenient and accessible across the country. We are committed to saving lives through early detection and – with James' help – we hope more Americans are encouraged to take this critical step.' 'In my primary care practice, I'm on the frontlines of colorectal cancer and screenings are one of the best tools we have, helping us to catch and treat colorectal cancer at early stages,' said Dr. Angel Lazo, an internal medicine physician in New Jersey. 'In my practice, it can be difficult for patients to screen with traditional methods. Adding the option of Shield has made it much more convenient and expanded screening to more people, giving peace of mind to them – and to me as their doctor.' Shield is the first blood test approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as a primary screening option for CRC. It is intended for adults age 45 and older at average risk for the disease and can be ordered by any prescribing healthcare provider. With Shield, individuals can undergo screening with a simple blood draw and results are typically available within two weeks. Recently, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network included the Shield blood test in its updated CRC screening guidelines, paving the way for improved patient access and additional major clinical guideline inclusions. For more information about the Shield blood test, visit About Guardant Health Guardant Health is a leading precision oncology company focused on guarding wellness and giving every person more time free from cancer. Founded in 2012, Guardant is transforming patient care and accelerating new cancer therapies by providing critical insights into what drives disease through its advanced blood and tissue tests, real-world data and AI analytics. Guardant tests help improve outcomes across all stages of care, including screening to find cancer early, monitoring for recurrence in early-stage cancer, and treatment selection for patients with advanced cancer. For more information, visit and follow the company on LinkedIn, X (Twitter) and Facebook. Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of federal securities laws, including statements regarding the potential utilities, values, benefits and advantages of Guardant Health's liquid biopsy tests or assays, which involve risks and uncertainties that could cause the actual results to differ materially from the anticipated results and expectations expressed in these forward-looking statements. These statements are based on current expectations, forecasts and assumptions, and actual outcomes and results could differ materially from these statements due to a number of factors. These and additional risks and uncertainties that could affect Guardant Health's financial and operating results and cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by the forward-looking statements made in this press release include those discussed under the captions 'Risk Factors' and 'Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operation' and elsewhere in its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024, and in its other reports filed with or furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission thereafter. The forward-looking statements in this press release are based on information available to Guardant Health as of the date hereof, and Guardant Health disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements provided to reflect any change in its expectations or any change in events, conditions, or circumstances on which any such statement is based, except as required by law. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing Guardant Health's views as of any date subsequent to the date of this press release.
