University of Central Florida
07/11/2024 | Press release | Archived content
Health Beat: Stop the Shaking with a Parkinson’s Patch
Uncontrollable tremors and rigidity are the tell-tale signs of Parkinson's.
It's the most common motor disorder and second most frequently diagnosed neurodegenerative disease, second only to Alzheimer's.
"I knew it stole your ability to walk, balance, speaking. And Parkinson's hits you in so many different ways," said Parkinson's patient Steve Holland.
Almost 10 million people are living with it and although there are drugs to treat the disease, many people become resistant to them over the years.
Now, researchers at the University of Central Florida College of Medicine have developed a new technology that might help control tremors: a patch.
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"The Parkinson's patient, they're losing the dopamine neurons deep in the brain," said Kiminobu Sugaya, a neuroscientist at the UCF College of Medicine.
The technology helps to stop the loss of those neurons through specially designed ceramics wrapped in a rubber blanket. Infrared light travels through the ceramic and activates the neurons.
Mice treated with the infrared ceramics had an increase in the number of brain cells in the area associated with Parkinson's disease and in turn, the mice had better control of their balance and movement.
"We are not gonna say that this is going to regenerate the neurons, but that this is preventing the loss of the neurons even further," said Sugaya.
The therapy would be delivered through a patch that sits on your head, no surgery needed.
One of the benefits of using the ceramic blanket is that it can be used anywhere, without the need for a power supply and the side effects of drugs.
It can also be used to speed up wound healing up to 25%, which makes it a possible lifesaving technology suited for combat situations or people living in remote areas.