11.2022 - 02.2026

Dalle lesioni ischemiche alla riparazione cerebrale: verso nuove terapie elettroceutiche nei modelli animali (From ischemic lesions to brain repair: advancing electroceutical therapies in animal models)

This project opens new avenues for post-stroke rehabilitation, targeting electroceuticals, an emerging technology that uses targeted electrical stimulations to (re)activate brain areas directly or indirectly affected by ischemic damage. The objective is to promote the recovery of motor functions, acting directly around the affected area. The LiSTechLab team of bioengineers and clinicians, coordinated by Prof. Chiappalone, faces this challenge thanks to experimental and computational skills. Early research showed how areas close to the lesion tend to reduce their activity and lose the organization of neuronal connections, a phenomenon that is accompanied by impaired movement. To better understand these mechanisms, researchers adopted an innovative high-density recording technology, the SiNAPS probes developed by the Genoese company Corticale, which allow mapping the functional connectivity of the brain in great detail. From these findings, the group is developing electrical stimulation protocols tailored to the patient's signals, aiming to return the brain to conditions similar to pre-injury.

Electroceutics opens up completely new therapeutic scenarios. The ability to specifically stimulate damaged areas, without requiring active patient intervention, could dramatically reduce the need for long and strenuous motor rehabilitation sessions. This approach would also allow every moment of the day and night to be exploited to facilitate brain reorganization, accelerating functional recovery. In the medium to long term, the solutions developed thanks to the MNESYS project could be translated into implantable or non-invasive therapeutic devices, capable of integrating with existing clinical pathways and revolutionizing post-stroke rehabilitation. Thanks to the resources and instruments made available by MNESYS, the ongoing experiments lay the foundations for significant progress, with concrete prospects for clinical application within the next decade.

Settori Scientifico Disciplinari

ING-INF/06  ELECTRONIC AND INFORMATICS BIOENGINEERING

Spoke 6 : Neurodegeneration, Trauma and Stroke

Interview