Health Issue: Brain chip to help paralysed patients

Brain chip to help paralysed patients move bionic limbs London: Scientists have developed a brain chip that will help paralysed patients operate their bionic limbs.       The techology emplys tiny microchips to sense nerve messages, decode the signals, and turn thought into movement. The scientists hope that with in five years they will be able to offer patients with damaged spinal cords robotic devices that will enable them to move their arms or legs at will.       Rodrigo Quian Quioga heading a University of Leicester team working onthe project, said such patients retain the ability to "think" commands from the brain, reoprts telegraph.co.uk.        "The guy can see the object he wants to reach, the guy can have the intention to reach to the object, the brain can send a command to the arm - 'reach for this cup of tea' - but the signal gets broken at the level of the spinal cord," he said.         "If we can get the signals from these neurons and interpret them with what is called decoding algorithms, then we can move a robot device placed on the paralysed arm," he added.          The more ambitious idea is not touse robotic devices but to replace the broken connection to the limb with an artificial link. The brain chip would then send signals to an implanted stimulator in the spinal cord. This would generate electrical impulses to make muscles contract and move parlysed limbs.          For those who rely on binic arms, the process of muscle reinnervation is what makes them functional. First developed by Dr Todd Kuiken, director of neuroengineering at the Center for Artificial Limbs at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, the procedure involves grafting shoulder nerves to the pectoral muscle.           The grafts receive thought generated impulses, and the activity is sensed by electrodes within the muscle. The electrodes relay the signals to the arm's computer, which causes motors to move the elbow and hand. Hence, when amputee Jesse Sullivan thinks. "Close hand," electrical signals sent through surgically re-routed nerves make it happen. Moreover, unlike typical artificial arms, there is no perceivable delay in motion.           Gregory Clark, assoicate professor of bioengineering and a prosthetics researcher at the University Utah, says that convertional prosthetic limbs are problematic because they "can do only one movement at any particular moment". However, Sullivan says his bionic arm allows him to rotate his upper arm, bend his elbow, rotate his wrist, and open and close his hand - in some instances simultaneously.

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Health Isue: Risk of Mental illness

'Risk of mental illness may be predicted from brain patterns' London: British scientists believe they have found specific patterns of brain activity in children and young people which could be signs or "markiers" of those who will later go on to develop mental illnesses such as schizophrenia.       Experts from Nottingham University, who presented their study at Forum for Europian Neuroscience in Amsterdam, said the patterns suggest it may be possible in future to identify those at risk of becoming ill before they develop symptoms.         "If we can identify people who are at particularly high risk of developing schizophrenia, perhaps using neurocognitive brain markers, said Maddie Groom, who worked on the study and gave a briefing to reporters in London. "If we give them a better start, they may encounter the illness in a more positive way not get quite so all.

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Health Issue: Hemopressin can also be used to treat alcohol

Key to overeating found, may lead to new diet drug Raising Hemopressin May Curb Food-For-Pleasure Craving London: Scientists have found an appetite suppressant tha can curb the desire for "pleasure eating" ,a discovery that could lead to a new class of dieting drugs.        Researchers at Manchester University found that the substance called hemopressin, which occurs naturally in the bocy, affects the reward centres of the brain that light up when someone enjoys a comforting snack or cigarette. It was found to be blocking these areas of the brain, reducing the craving for post-pub kebabs and calorific late-night snacks.        Garron Dodd, who led the research, said the finding could lead to drugs that can stimulate the brain to produce more hemopressing, which will prevent people from eating purely for pleasure instead of from hunger, "The discovery offers new insights into how the brain controls appetite and opens new avenues by which to manipulate this brain circuitry and aid the development of anti obesity treatment," he was quoted as saying by the Daily Mail.          The chemical can also be used to treat alcohol and drug abuse, the researchers said. About six years ago, a synthetic product called Rimoubant, which acted on the brain to reduce hunger, was developed and marketed as an anti-obesity treatment. But it appeared to increase the risk of depression and suicidal thoughts ans was withdrawn from the market. Dodd believes naturally occurring hemopressin can suppress hunger without the side effects.]          For their study, experts fed hemopressin to mice and found they ate less food. It was also found the chemical had no other impact on their behaviour. an identical group of mice given a synthetic form of the chemical also ate less, but suffered side effects such as increased grooming and scratching.

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