The group of neurological disorders known as epilepsy not only cause disruptive, alarming seizures, but those seizures also tend to increase in frequency and severity over time. While the majority of patients can gain some control of their condition via medication or surgery, approximately 30 percent cannot. Now, however, help may be on the way … in the form of tiny pieces of silk implanted in the brain.
The silk is designed to store and subsequently release adenosine, a nucleoside that has been shown to decrease neuronal excitability and thus decrease seizures – studies have suggested that epileptics may have abnormally low adenosine levels. The substance is continuously released from the implant over the course of 10 days, after which the biodegradable silk harmlessly dissolves into the body.
via Gizmag
