2013: The best biomedicine news according to MIT Technology Review
Amid the controversy over US healthcare reform, the outgoing year has brought many achievements in the field of biomedicine. In April, the US president announced an ambitious federal initiative to map the activity of all neurons in the brain. Within the framework of the project Studying the brain with the help of modern innovative neurotechnologies (Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies, BRAIN), neuroscientists, nanotechnologists and other researchers working on technologies for simultaneous monitoring of the activity of thousands of neurons will receive financial support in the amount of $ 100 million.
Experts hope that such innovations will help neuroscientists understand the biological foundations of cognition and perception and accelerate the development of treatments for diseases such as autism and post-traumatic stress. Significant progress has been made in the field of neurobiology this year, but specialists still cannot fully understand the mechanisms of brain functioning and learn how to treat diseases of this organ.
In 2013, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the use of the first artificial retinal prosthesis in the United States. This device, developed and manufactured in California, has been approved for use in Europe since 2011. The artificial retina is a light-recording system capable of providing a certain amount of visual information to patients who, due to a genetic disease, have suffered degradation of the retina, which is a direct continuation of the nervous tissue of the brain. Also this year, the German company announced that an alternative retinal prosthesis developed by its specialists allows patients to distinguish household items such as door handles, as well as read large letters.
Brain in miniature: an organoid grown from stem cells contains various regions of the brain.
Neurons are colored green, and nerve stem cells are pink/red.
Also this year, a three-dimensional fragment of brain tissue grown in the laboratory from stem cells was born. It can be used to study brain functions and screen new drugs for toxicity and efficacy. This work is the most significant achievement among the results of progress in the field of regenerative biology, the fruits of which were also grown in the laboratory of the rudiments of the liver and fragments of the retina. Also in 2013, researchers said that by manipulating neurons storing information, they managed to create false memories in mice. This achievement provides new data necessary for a better understanding of the behavior of cells and nervous systems that provide memory formation.
For the first time this year, a new type of deep brain tissue stimulator was implanted in the patient. The principle of deep brain tissue stimulation is the delivery of therapeutic electrical impulses to certain regions of the brain for the treatment of various diseases, ranging from Parkinson's disease to obsessive compulsive disorder. The new device allows simultaneous recording of brain activity and, over time, self-regulating implants can be developed on its basis. At the current stage, it can provide specialists with unique information about the functioning of patients' brains in everyday life.
Many brain diseases are difficult to treat. Despite the growing need and huge monetary and time investments, effective means for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease still remain only a dream of pharmaceutical companies. New advances in neuroscience allow specialists to better understand what is happening in brain tissues, including with severe injuries sustained by soldiers, as well as adults and children who are fond of certain sports, including American football. In January 2013, researchers announced that they were able to identify signs of a degenerative brain disease known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy in former players of the US National Football League. This was the first time that signs of the disease were detected in the brains of living people.
In addition to the serious stimulation of the direction involved in the development of methods of treatment and visualization of the brain, another news that attracted public attention to the federal government was the decision of the US Supreme Court prohibiting the patenting of "natural" human genes. The essence of the ruling is that it is impossible to patent genes whose sequence is identical to the sequences contained in the human genome. At the same time, the versions of genes modified in the laboratory are subject to patenting. This provision was the result of a process between Myriad Genetics, a company specializing in medical diagnostics, and the Association of Molecular Pathology of the United States regarding the permission to grant Myriad Genetics patents for gene sequences used by the company in tests to determine the risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer.
At the beginning of the outgoing year, experts described the risks that could threaten the privacy of people who allow their genetic information to be used for research purposes. The possibility of unwanted identification of donor DNA was taken into account when planning the precautions taken by the UK in implementing the plan to become a leader in the genomics industry. The UK Public Health Service plans to integrate the results of genome analysis into the database of medical institutions, as well as provide access to data for researchers from other countries, but all personal information will be stored in the Public Health Service.
In the USA, the FDA has approved a new generation of DNA sequencing technology for the first time. The agency said that Illumina, a manufacturer of DNA sequencing equipment and reagents, could sell four of its products as medical diagnostic tools.
Another important decision from the point of view of genetics was made by the FDA at the end of November, banning the company 23andMe specializing in personal genetics from selling tests for genetic analysis. The use of these tests for home use implied the interpretation of the risks of the occurrence of various diseases in the client, as well as obtaining information about its origin. The company partially satisfied the FDA's requirement by closing access to information related to the health status of customers, but continues to sell tests that allow obtaining non-interpretable genetic information, as well as information about a person's pedigree.
The developers of gene therapy methods have received some good news in the past year. Despite the fact that the US governing bodies did not follow the example of the European Union, which approved gene therapy in 2012, this year American researchers founded several companies whose goal is to obtain such approval. At the end of the year, a company was established, whose activities are devoted to the development of a fundamentally new approach to gene therapy for the treatment of diseases that do not have effective treatment methods. This approach is based on a new method of genome modification, called Crispr/Cas.
There is also hope for further confirmation of the optimistic news received in March 2013, when researchers from the US National Institutes of Health announced that they might be able to cure a child infected with HIV at birth. Doctors gave the girl a standard course of antiretroviral therapy starting from the first hours after her birth. A year later, the girl showed no signs of HIV infection, despite the fact that she did not take antiretroviral drugs.
Evgeniya Ryabtseva
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru based on the materials of MIT Technology Review:
2013: The best biomedicine stories of the year.
27.12.2013