Brain prosthetics? Neuromodulation? The ‘disruptive dozen’ techs that’ll accelerate neuropsychiatric care

Partners Healthcare just released a list of what it ranks the top dozen most promising approaches in neurocare. Here’s that dozen, populated with useful links that inform the direction academia – and business – are headed. They’ve been vetted, and it’s confirmed: These trends truly are on the bleeding edge of research.

Many of these applications will be impactful across healthcare, but here’s how they apply to neurology and psychiatry:

1. Early diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease

• Alzheimer’s-in-a-dish: It’s now possible to replicate human brain cells on a petri dish, helping researchers sidestep the lobotomy to learn a bit more about Alzheimer’s intricate biology.
• Experimental drugs to reduce beta amyloid and lessen plaque buildup in the brain.
• Blood tests to pick up Alzheimer’s cases before symptoms start to manifest – thus kicking off early intervention.

2. Stem cell therapy

• The popularity of stem cell therapy for diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s has been sinusoidal, to say the least. Lately, however, this technology is reemerging as a promising way to repair and replenish brain cells.

3. Smart brain prosthetics

• We’re moving past ECT: Implantable, wireless brain devices are now being tested to treat a variety of psychiatric and neurological disorders. It’s all about manipulating brain signals with neural engineering.

4. Quicker intervention for psych disorders

• Most psych drugs are slow-acting. Substances like ketamine or psychedelics are being tested as ways to jumpstart the brain into faster recovery from severe depression.
• Another approach is low-field magnetic stimulation therapy. While the mechanism of action isn’t yet known, studies are pointing toward the fact that subtly altering brain waves with MRI tech helps folks snap out of depression.

5. Focused ultrasound

• Rather than relying on radiation and deep surgical invasion, focused ultrasound – combined with microbubbles – is emerging as a way to target and treat specific areas of the brain. This could have impact in brain cancer, for instance – tumors could be targeted with minimal invasion, increasing accuracy and reducing recovery times.

6. Brain biomarkers

• So many neuropsychiatric diseases are diagnosed with a blunt screening tool – the subjective Q&As, a glance at an MRI scan. Researchers are now identifying biomarkers that can more accurately indicate what neurological or psychiatric disorder a patient may have – thus improving the application of precision medicine in the head.

7. Gene therapy 

• Building on biomarkers, there’s now hope that once a neuropsychiatric condition’s accurately diagnosed, it can be treated genetically. Applications? Turning off, say, the genes that cause CNS disease like Parkinson’s disease, ALS and epilepsy.

8. Molecular intervention with minimally invasive tech

• Advanced imaging in the familiar form of PET, CT, MRI, fluoroscopy and ultrasound will help neurosurgeons hone in on their targets all the more accurately.
• This will lead to molecular interventions – such as alterations in brain circuitry or DNA modifications that can be introduced with viral vectors.

9. Neuromodulation 

• Definitely a buzzword these days. Electroceuticals in particular are being explored to treat a range of neuropsychiatric disorders – from depression to Parkinson’s to schizophrenia.

10. Checkpoint inhibitor immunotherapy for brain cancer

• We’re in the age of immunotherapy, but brain cancer’s a tough target. That may change, as we’re getting closer in harnessing the immune system to attack brain tumor cells exclusively.

11. Applying neuroimaging to diagnose neurodegenerative and psychiatric illnesses

• It’s all about learning more about the structure to gain better diagnostic insights, as we match up genotypic, phenotypic and function data. See: BRAIN Initiative.

12. Microbiome

• The microbiome has been fingered as the possible culprit of a litany of disease – cardiovascular, immunologic and now, psychiatric or neurodegenerative. Researchers are studying the 3.3 million genes in the microbiome to link up gut flora with diseases like multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s disease.

The list was released at the World Medical Innovation Forum in Boston this week.