Magnetoelectric Nanoparticles as Needleless Acupuncture for Pain Management
Abstract
Chronic pain is a major problem of public health in both civilians and military personnel. Patients with neuropathic pain commonly experience severe pain that is often refractory to current treatment options. Chronic pain not only severely compromises the quality of life, employment, and recovery of the patients, but also leads to opioid addiction and life-threatening drug overdose and abuse. As a type of alternative medicine, acupuncture is known to be effective in relieving different types of pain, which consequently reduces the use of medications such as opioids and improves functional outcomes. However, the requirement for multiple clinic visits and needling for treatment is a significant burden to patients in terms of time and cost. Developing a new acupuncture technology that requires fewer clinic visits and is less or non-invasive, convenient, and safe will have important significance for better management of pain. Magnetoelectric nanoparticles (MEN) is a novel type of nanoparticles that is highly efficient in coupling externally applied magnetic stimulation (MS) with generating local electrical fields that are capable of stimulating nearby cells. Such stimulation is predicted to mimic the effect of electrical acupuncture. Therefore, we propose to directly inject or non-invasively deliver the MEN into an acupuncture point and then apply a magnetic wave to wirelessly stimulate the point for treatment. The goal of this research proposal is to develop MEN as a novel technology of acupuncture for pain management. We will first synthesize and test different sizes of MENs to determine how long it will remain in an acupuncture point and whether it will induce toxic or side effect in local tissue. We will then use a well-established mouse model of neuropathic pain to determine whether magnetic stimulation of injected MEN will reduce pain-like behavior and use a brain imaging technique to examine whether the treatment will normalize brain activities and plasticity. Findings from this study have the potential to bring a new technology for pain treatment and reduce the use of medication (including opioids). Because pain is often a major factor limiting the quality of life in Soldiers and Veterans with neurological disorders, the success of this study will contribute to better patient care and reduce the use of opioids and its lethal side effects.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Dec 28, 2022
- Source ID
- W81XWH2210137
Entities
People
- Xiaoming Jin
Organizations
- Indiana University
- United States Army