Press Release of June 21, 2024
Reactivating impaired Motor Neurons Using Magnetic Fields
HZDR receives two million euros for researching a new therapeutic approach to treat neurodegenerative diseases
An interdisciplinary research team led by physicist Dr. Thomas Herrmannsdörfer from the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) has demonstrated in cell experiments that magnetic fields can restore dysfunctional motor neurons. In healthy individuals, motor neurons send signals to the skeletal muscles. However, with neurodegenerative diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), these neurons are impaired and no longer transmit signals. As a result, the muscles fail to receive instructions, causing them to no longer work and to atrophy. In order to support research into motor neuron reactivation with magnetic fields and to transfer that knowledge into clinical practice, the Saxonian Ministry of Science and European Union are funding the “ThaXonian: Magnetic Therapy for Axon Regeneration” project with approximately two million euros over the following three years.
Using pulsed magnetic fields to fight neurodegenerative diseases
Source: HZDR/Sahneweiß
The successful reactivation of impaired motor neurons by magnetic fields, which has been demonstrated in cell experiments, could form the basis for an entirely new therapeutic approach to curing neurodegenerative diseases. The aim of the project now funded to develop a corresponding therapy based on the cell experiments in order to treat neuronal diseases such as ALS, which is currently incurable. Herrmannsdörfer sees this funding as validation of previous research results: “Our motivation is to provide new hope to ALS patients, who are often faced with death merely a few years after diagnosis, and if possible, to save their lives, or at least improve their quality of life and increase their lifespan.”
Prof. Sebastian M. Schmidt, HZDR’s scientific director, also views the funding as confirmation of HZDR’s strategic orientation: “I am thrilled for both the research team and for those affected by neurodegenerative diseases, who are desperately awaiting new therapeutic approaches. ThaXonian is a project that reflects in a special way our vision at HZDR to develop application-oriented and interdisciplinary scientific solutions to meet the challenges of our time. It is also an example of how the close collaboration between different institutions within the DRESDEN-concept facilitates research that is fit for the future.”
Thomas Herrmannsdörfer, department head at HZDR’s Dresden High Magnetic Field Laboratory (HLD) works closely with cell biologist Dr. Arun Pal and physician Prof. Richard Funk. Together with colleagues from the universities in Dresden and Rostock, they form a research team from the fields of physics, medicine, biology and engineering. At the HZDR, in addition to the HLD, the team led by Prof. Jens Pietzsch from the Center for Radiopharmaceutical Tumor Research is involved in the project.
The scientists are pursuing three major goals through their funding
The in-vitro studies (cell experiments) will be continued. The findings with regards to the effect of magnetic fields on human nerve cells are to be investigated in more depth. Further studies also aim to examine the extent to which the findings, which are based on work with impaired motor neurons in ALS patients and healthy test subjects, can also be transferred to other neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, age-related and diabetic polyneuropathy. As the methodology is based on fundamental biological processes of cells, Herrmannsdörfer and his team assume that the transferability is very likely.
A second area of investigation deals with the transition to in-vivo studies. The findings obtained in cell cultures so far are to be verified in mouse models. The team aims to demonstrate in animal experiments the extent to which the results observed from human in-vitro cell cultures can be transferred to the much more complex in-vivo tissue, where motor neurons are, for example, surrounded by glial cells or blood vessels. The goal is to verify the safety and effect of magnetic simulations. This is a necessary prerequisite in order to apply for the first volunteer studies at a later date.
Herrmannsdörfer and his team have designed a prototype therapy system in recent years. In order to prepare this demonstrator for possible use on test subjects and patients, extensive technical validation and additional development work are necessary to ensure compliance with the regulatory requirements set forth in the European Medical Device Regulation. The aim is to use the demonstrator to safely generate and control the therapeutically necessary magnetic fields identified in the in-vitro and in-vivo experiments.
The project is financed by the Saxonian Ministry of Science and the European Research Development Fund and will be supported with approximately two million euros over the next three years.
Further Information:
Dr. Thomas Herrmannsdörfer I Dresden High Magnetic Field Laboratory at the HZDR
Phone: +49 351 260 3320 I Email: t.herrmannsdoerfer@hzdr.de, thaxonian-info@hzdr.de
https://www.hzdr.de/thaxonian
ThaXonian Media Contact:
Kim-Astrid Magister | Communications and Media Relations at HZDR
Phone: +49 351 260 3406 | Email: k.magister@hzdr.de
