Khalil Ramadi Electronic pills that could transform how we treat disease TED Fellows
[SHAPE YOUR FUTURE]
For decades, scientists have
tried to use brain modulation
to treat neurological disorders.
Techniques usually involved
sticking wires onto our head,
then helmets that immobilized our head
and zapping our brain
with magnetic or electrical pulses.
Given what we now know about the millions
of circuits that our brain has,
this was much like trying to fix a pothole
by resurfacing the entire road.
Brain modulation can actually
come in different forms.
The brain connects with all organs
in our bodies through neurons,
much like an octopus' tentacles.
This means that diabetes, cancer,
autoimmune disorders can all be induced,
affected and exacerbated
by the brain and the nervous system.
This also means that
brain modulation can be achieved
through different parts of the body
by zapping organs and limbs
with electrodes
that have usually been
implanted with drills and scalpels.
Today, however, brain modulation
doesn’t have to be so invasive.
Some of my colleagues at MIT
have discovered that a potential
therapy for Alzheimer’s
could be watching light
of a certain wavelength
flash at a particular frequency.
This is an example of something
I like to call a bionudge –
simple techniques that target
specific circuits in our bodies
to achieve a certain outcome,
like using light to slow
degeneration and Alzheimer’s.
Let me show you an example
of a really simple bionudge.
In 10 seconds, I’m going to cause neurons
in your pretectal area to light up
and then I’ll stimulate your amygdala
and hippocampus to surprise you.
Finally, your arcuate nucleus
to make you feel hungry.
Bionudges don’t need
to be shocking or jarring,
They just need to be designed to activate
or silence a specific brain circuit.
Combining bionudges in a certain order
can allow us to use them
for a more targeted purpose.
My team and I at MIT
developed microdevices
similar in shape and size to a pill
that can be swallowed like we do pills
and contain electronics
to deliver little bursts
of electrical or chemical stimuli –
bionudges – to our gut.
Our gut is the largest interface
of our body with the outside world.
It has an incredible combination
of tissues all working together.
It houses enteroendocrine cells
that sense what we eat
and induce the release of hormones
that can regulate hunger and metabolism.
It houses immune cells
that sense the microbiome
while preventing bacteria
from entering our body.
And neurons – lots and lots of neurons.
This is why certain sugary or salty foods
can ramp up dopamine levels in our brain
and make us feel quite good
after eating them.
Our electronic pills can be designed
to reside in the gut for days to weeks,
delivering bionudges to neurons
along the GI tract.
Depending on the shape and strength
of these electrical impulses,
they can either affect
hormone levels in our blood
or travel up to our brain
where they can activate or silence
specific brain circuits
that control hunger,
metabolism and arousal.
Much like we did just a few minutes ago.
Using our devices,
we could stimulate the stomach
to tackle nausea or influence satiety
or the intestine to change the way
we digest things like glucose
by affecting absorption
of nutrients in food.
This could mean new, noninvasive therapies
for the 34 million diabetics in the US
and 650 million
obese population worldwide.
We could even affect things
like inflammation in the brain,
slowing down degeneration
for the almost 60 million patients
with Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s
around the world.
By being super specific,
we can avoid side effects,
unlike most of our drugs.
And in this way we can control appetite,
nutrient digestion, hormone levels,
even happiness and reward.
This is exciting.
Bionudges are more targeted than medicines
and less invasive than surgery.
Neuromodulation therapies could be
a new gold standard in health care.
I’d like to leave you with an image:
a single pill, not filled
with drugs or chemicals,
but with electronics and microdevices
that deliver little bursts
of energy to our gut.
This pill can treat Parkinson’s,
Alzheimer’s, diabetes or obesity,
all without any chronic drugs,
completely noninvasively.
No drill, no surgery, no hospital stay.
This is how medicine could be.
This is how medicine should be.
Thank you.