Summary:
UCLA researchers in the Department of Bioengineering have developed an electrical neuromodulation method to accelerate recovery from deleterious chemotherapy side effects to improve patient outcome.
Background:
Chemotherapy works by targeting and killing fast-growing cancer cells using anti-cancer drugs. However, because these drugs lack specificity, they also damage healthy, rapidly dividing cells—such as those in the bone marrow and nervous system. This off-target damage can lead to serious complications, including anemia, neutropenia, and thrombocytopenia, often requiring secondary treatments like palliative care. While therapies are being developed to address individual side effects, these adjuvant treatments can introduce additional adverse effects—such as dyspnea, chest pain, nausea, hypoxemia, and diaphoresis—causing some patients to discontinue their use. Therefore, there is a critical need for new secondary treatments that can manage chemotherapy-induced side effects without causing further harm.
Innovation:
UCLA researchers in the Department of Bioengineering developed an electrical neuromodulation method that accelerates the recovery from cytopenia-thrombocytopenia, neutropenia, and anemia that result from chemotherapy. The neuromodulator follows a programmable stimulus protocol to electrically activate the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) via wireless command. Electrical sympathetic neuromodulation (ESN) has shown promise in reducing chemotherapy’s negative impact on hematopoiesis, or blood cell formation, by regulating blood cell production within the bone marrow. SNS stimulation may protect bone marrow hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) from damage and inactivation, leading to improve patient side effects. In contrast to the conventional pharmacology approach, this method uses bioelectronics, to regulate hematopoiesis and immune response during chemotherapy. This novel technique has the potential to significantly reduce chemotherapy-induced side effects by preventing cell inactivation and death. It may also serve as a platform for treating other conditions, such as inflammatory bowel disease and rheumatoid arthritis.
Patent Application:
Bioelectric neuromodulation for hematopoiesis regulation during chemotherapy (US18/205,274)
Potential Applications:
• Reduction of hematologic toxicity during chemotherapy
• Neurostimulation
• Treatment for neuro damage
• Palliative care
• Autoimmune disorder treatment
Advantages:
• Wireless control
• Mitigated side effects
• Acceleration in recovery after chemotherapy
• Targeted SNS stimulation
• Stem cell stimulation and protection
Development to Date:
First successful demonstration in vivo studies
Related Papers:
Electrical Sympathetic Neuromodulation Protects Bone Marrow Niche and Drives Hematopoietic Regeneration during Chemotherapy, Ya-Ting Hsu, Li-Hsien Chen, Ya-Hui Liu, Shih-Kai Chu, Tsai-Yun Chen, Kuen-Jer Tsai, Meng-Ru Shen, Wentai Liu, First published: 26 February 2023 https://doi.org/10.1002/smtd.202201300
Reference:
UCLA Case No. 2020-382
Lead Inventor:
Wentai Liu