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Let There be Light… to Treat Breathing Problems Due to Nerve Damage!
In a study, scientists observed rats with breathing problems caused by damage to their nerves have had normal breathing restored by bursts of visible light aimed onto the spinal cord.
The breakthrough may pave the way for miniature implants that would shine light on damaged nerves, and might one day allow people with similar injuries to breathe normally.
In a study in 2005, Ed Boyden at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology infected neurons in Petri dishes with viruses carrying the ChR2 gene, which codes for a light-sensitive protein called channelrhodopsin-2.
The researchers found that the neurons started expressing the protein, which made them use pulses of light to control when the neurons fired.
"The nerve cells think they are photoreceptors," New Scientist quoted neuroscientist Jerry Silver at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, as saying.
In the current study, Silver is aiming to find out how this light-operated neuronal switch might be used to restore function lost as a result of nerve damage.
Thus, the researchers cut part way through the spinal cords of rats at the second vertebra from the top, where the neck pivots, severing the connection between the spinal cord and the nerves that control one side of the diaphragm.
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