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WASHINGTON (AP) — Medication via remote-control instead of a shot? Scientists implanted microchips in seven women that did just that, oozing out the right dose of a bone-strengthening drug once a day without them even noticing.

Implanted medicine is a hot field, aiming to help patients better stick to their meds and to deliver those drugs straight to the body part that needs them.

But Thursday's study is believed the first attempt at using a wirelessly controlled drug chip in people. If this early-stage testing eventually pans out, the idea is that doctors one day might program dose changes from afar with the push of a button, or time them for when the patient is sleeping to minimize side effects.

The implant initially is being studied to treat severe bone-thinning osteoporosis. But it could be filled with other types of medication, said co-inventor Robert Langer of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

"It's like 'Star Trek,'" said Langer, who co-authored the study appearing Thursday in the journal Science Translational Medicine. "Just send a signal over a special radio wave, and out comes the drug."

Today's medication implants continuously emit their drugs until they run dry. One example is a dime-sized wafer that oozes chemotherapy directly onto the site of a surgically removed brain tumor, targeting any remaining cancer cells. Another is a contraceptive rod that is implanted in the arm and releases hormones to prevent pregnancy.

A next step would be more sophisticated implants that release one dose at a time, programmable to skip or add a dose as needed, said biomedical engineer Ellis Meng of the University of Southern California. Meng wasn't involved with the MIT study but also is developing this kind of technology, and called Thursday's report "an important milestone."

Women with severe osteoporosis sometimes are prescribed daily injections of the bone-building drug teriparatide, known by the brand Forteo. But many quit taking it because of the hassle of the shots.

In the study, the microchip held doses of that drug inside tiny wells that are sealed shut with a nano-thin layer of gold. Sending a wireless signal causes the gold on an individual well to dissolve, allowing that dose to diffuse into the bloodstream, Langer explained.

In a doctor's-office procedure, the microchip was implanted just below the waistline into eight women with osteoporosis in Denmark. Testing found one microchip wasn't responding to the signals. The other seven women had their implants programmed to automatically emit a once-a-day dose beginning eight weeks later.

The chips could have begun working right away, said Robert Farra, CEO of MicroCHIPS Inc., a Massachusetts company that has licensed the device and funded the study. But animal research showed a scar tissue-like membrane forms around the pacemaker-sized implant. So he waited until that blockage formed to signal the first of 20 once-a-day doses to begin, to see if the drug could get through.

Blood testing showed the implant delivered the drug as effectively as the women's usual daily injections, and the device appeared to be safe, the researchers reported.

It will take large-scale studies to prove the implant works as well as the long-used shots, cautioned osteoporosis specialist Dr. Ethel Siris of New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University.

"They're a long way from proving that this mode of administration is going to work," she said. But it's an intriguing idea because "it's daunting to have to take a daily shot."

Farra said his company hopes to begin a larger-scale test, using a chip that can hold 365 doses, in 2014. While doses of this osteoporosis medicine typically aren't adjusted, he said, the eventual goal is for patients to carry a cell phone-sized device that would provide wireless feedback to the doctor who programs their implants.

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Remote-controlled chip implant delivers bone drug

Public release date: 16-Feb-2012
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Contact: Natasha Pinol
npinol@aaas.org
202-326-7088
American Association for the Advancement of Science

Osteoporosis patients could soon ditch daily injection pens for an implantable microchip that releases medication at the push of a remote-controlled button, reports a new study appearing 16 February 2012 in the journal Science Translational Medicine.

The clinical trial, composed of a group of women with osteoporosis in Denmark, is the first to test a wirelessly controlled microchip capable of releasing drugs into the body at any time.

?Patients will be freed from having to remember to take their medication and don?t have to experience the pain of multiple injections,? said Robert Farra, President and Chief Operating Officer of MicroCHIPS, Inc., the Massachusetts-based company behind the device. Farra is a co-author of the study, along with colleagues from MIT, Harvard Medical School, OnDemand Therapeutics Inc and Case Western Reserve University.

Unlike most drug delivery devices, which release small amounts of drug slowly over time, the microchip releases medication on command from an external wireless device. This controlled system gets medicine into the bloodstream quickly, similar to an injection.

?Physicians will be able to seamlessly adjust their patients? therapy using a computer or cell phone,? said Farra.

The authors figure the microchip may be a more appealing and possibly cheaper alternative to long-term use of prefilled daily injection pens.

Patients with severe osteoporosis often have to give themselves daily injections of medication that requires refrigeration. Aside from the psychological burden of daily injections, older people may have arthritis or other problems that make injections physically difficult.

Moreover, since osteoporosis is a ?silent? disease ? affected individuals don?t feel better or worse as their bone density decreases ? many patients simply stop taking medication to avoid the hassle of daily injections.

The implant could help circumvent the high drop off in compliance and dramatically boost the quality of life for millions of osteoporosis patients. The device may also be useful for treating other chronic diseases like multiple sclerosis, heart disease or even cancer.

Roughly the size of a pacemaker, the device holds daily doses of a drug inside tiny wells that pop open either on a pre-programmed schedule or via a wireless signal.

?The drugs are in different wells. Each of these wells is covered by a nano-thin layer of gold which protects the drug for years if needed and prevents it from being released,? said Robert Langer, Professor at MIT and co-author of the Science Translational Medicine paper.

Sending a wireless signal to the well causes the gold to dissolve, freeing medication into the bloodstream.

Adapting microchip technology for human use is no small feat. The team first had to figure out a way to seal each reservoir airtight at room temperature. They developed a special compression welding process designed to provide a long-term seal. The researchers also developed the gold layer, which is strong enough to protect the contents of each reservoir, but thin enough to dissolve on command.

Despite the microchip?s proven ability to deliver drugs in the lab, once it was implanted into animals, a fibrous collagen-based membrane tended to develop around the device.

The researchers were concerned that this fibrous tissue could potentially slow down the absorption of medication, and one of the aims of this study was to determine if the membrane decreased effectiveness.

The researchers implanted the microchip just below the waistline, into seven women between the ages of 65 and 70. The procedure can be performed in a doctor's office with local anesthetic.

Tracking the women for 12 months, the team showed that the implant delivered the drug teriparatide just as effectively as daily injections, although the fibrous membrane did form around the device. Treatment improved bone formation and reduced the risk of bone fracture, as evidenced by the presence of biochemical markers signaling bone formation, bone mass and bone resorption.

?And there is much less variation from dose to dose than injections, so it's safer and more effective in that sense,? Langer said. The chip was removed from participants at the end of the one-year treatment.

The company hopes to make the device available for mainstream use in five years.

###

This study was funded by MicroCHIPS, Inc.

The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is the world's largest general scientific society, and publisher of the journal, Science (http://www.sciencemag.org) as well as Science Translational Medicine (http://www.sciencetranslationalmedicine.org) and Science Signaling (http://www.sciencesignaling.org). AAAS was founded in 1848, and includes some 262 affiliated societies and academies of science, serving 10 million individuals. Science has the largest paid circulation of any peer-reviewed general science journal in the world, with an estimated total readership of 1 million. The non-profit AAAS (http://www.aaas.org) is open to all and fulfills its mission to "advance science and serve society" through initiatives in science policy; international programs; science education; and more. For the latest research news, log onto EurekAlert!, http://www.eurekalert.org, the premier science-news Web site, a service of AAAS.

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Go here to see the original:
Implantable microchip delivers medicine to women with osteoporosis

WASHINGTON - Medication via remote-control instead of a shot? Scientists implanted microchips in seven women that did just that, oozing out the right dose of a bone-strengthening drug once a day without them even noticing.

Implanted medicine is a hot field, aiming to help patients better stick to their meds and to deliver those drugs straight to the body part that needs them.

But Thursday's study is believed the first attempt at using a wirelessly controlled drug chip in people. If this early-stage testing eventually pans out, the idea is that doctors one day might program dose changes from afar with the push of a button, or time them for when the patient is sleeping to minimize side effects.

The implant initially is being studied to treat severe bone-thinning osteoporosis. But it could be filled with other types of medication, said co-inventor Robert Langer of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

"It's like 'Star Trek,'" said Langer, who co-authored the study appearing Thursday in the journal Science Translational Medicine. "Just send a signal over a special radio wave, and out comes the drug."

Today's medication implants continuously emit their drugs until they run dry. One example is a dime-sized wafer that oozes chemotherapy directly onto the site of a surgically removed brain tumour, targeting any remaining cancer cells. Another is a contraceptive rod that is implanted in the arm and releases hormones to prevent pregnancy.

A next step would be more sophisticated implants that release one dose at a time, programmable to skip or add a dose as needed, said biomedical engineer Ellis Meng of the University of Southern California. Meng wasn't involved with the MIT study but also is developing this kind of technology, and called Thursday's report "an important milestone."

Women with severe osteoporosis sometimes are prescribed daily injections of the bone-building drug teriparatide, known by the brand Forteo. But many quit taking it because of the hassle of the shots.

In the study, the microchip held doses of that drug inside tiny wells that are sealed shut with a nano-thin layer of gold. Sending a wireless signal causes the gold on an individual well to dissolve, allowing that dose to diffuse into the bloodstream, Langer explained.

In a doctor's-office procedure, the microchip was implanted just below the waistline into eight women with osteoporosis in Denmark. Testing found one microchip wasn't responding to the signals. The other seven women had their implants programmed to automatically emit a once-a-day dose beginning eight weeks later.

The chips could have begun working right away, said Robert Farra, CEO of MicroCHIPS Inc., a Massachusetts company that has licensed the device and funded the study. But animal research showed a scar tissue-like membrane forms around the pacemaker-sized implant. So he waited until that blockage formed to signal the first of 20 once-a-day doses to begin, to see if the drug could get through.

Blood testing showed the implant delivered the drug as effectively as the women's usual daily injections, and the device appeared to be safe, the researchers reported.

It will take large-scale studies to prove the implant works as well as the long-used shots, cautioned osteoporosis specialist Dr. Ethel Siris of New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University.

"They're a long way from proving that this mode of administration is going to work," she said. But it's an intriguing idea because "it's daunting to have to take a daily shot."

Farra said his company hopes to begin a larger-scale test, using a chip that can hold 365 doses, in 2014. While doses of this osteoporosis medicine typically aren't adjusted, he said, the eventual goal is for patients to carry a cellphone-sized device that would provide wireless feedback to the doctor who programs their implants.

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Study implants chip that oozes out a daily dose of medicine as doctor orders by remote control

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NEW YORK — The ancient Chinese exercise of tai chi improved balance and lowered the risk of falls in a study of people with Parkinson's disease. Symptoms of the brain disorder include tremors and stiff, jerky movements that can affect walking and other activities.

Medications and surgery can help, and doctors often recommend exercise or physical therapy.

Tai chi (ty-CHEE'), with its slow, graceful movements, has been shown to improve strength and aid stability in older people, and has been studied for a number of ailments. In the latest study, led by Fuzhong Li of the Oregon Research Institute in Eugene, tai chi was tested in 195 people with mild-to-moderate Parkinson's.

The participants attended twice-weekly group classes of either tai chi or two other kinds of exercise — stretching and resistance training, which included steps and lunges with ankle weights and a weighted vest.

The tai chi routine was tailored for the Parkinson's patients, with a focus on "swing and sway" motions and weight-shifting, said Li, who practices tai chi and teaches instructors.

After six months of classes, the tai chi group did significantly better than the stretching group in tests of balance, control, walking and other measures. Compared with resistance training, the tai chi group did better in balance, control and stride, and about the same in other tests.

Tai chi training was better than stretching in reducing falls, and as effective as resistance training, the researchers reported. The improvements in the tai chi group continued during three months of follow-up.

Li said the study showed tai chi was safe. It's easy to learn, and there's no special equipment, he added.

"People are looking for alternative programs, and this could be one of them," he said.

Estimates vary, but at least 500,000 people in the United States have Parkinson's.

The findings are in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine. The study was paid for by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.

Dr. Chenchen Wang, who is studying tai chi for arthritis and fibromyalgia, said the results of the Parkinson's research are "dramatic and impressive." She heads the Center for Complementary and Integrative Medicine at Tufts Medical Center in Boston.

One of the study's strengths: Researchers could measure the results directly instead of relying on the patients' own reports, she said. But a placebo effect can't be totally discounted, she said, because the participants knew which exercise program they were assigned and that could have influenced results.

By Stephanie Nano, Associated Press

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Tai chi helps ease symptoms of Parkinson's disease, study says