Era Of Electroceuticals Coming Soon?

Electroceuticals, hailed as the next frontier in medicine, is garnering considerable interest from medical researchers and entrepreneurs on the lookout for the next class of therapies.

- Lakshmipriya Nair

Since time immemorial, the idea of a miracle cure to rid all the ailments afflicting the human body have held tremendous fascination for scientists, medical researchers, alternative medicine practitioners and even faith healers. Could it be that the panacea the world’s looking for is nothing but electricity? The concept might not have had too many takers a few decades earlier, but today ‘electroceuticals’ a term used to describe miniature devices which can alter electrical signals diffused by nerves throughout the body to treat a wide range of illnesses, is being touted as the next great frontier in medicine.

Gaining ground

Also known as bioelectric medicine, it is has generated considerable interest globally among medical researchers and entrepreneurs. Leading medical device manufacturers like Medtronics, Boston Scientific Corporation, Cochlear and even pharma majors like GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) are making significant investments for research in this arena. Even organisations like the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the US have shown immense interest in the field of electroceuticals.

DARPA, an agency of the US Department of Defense in charge of the development of emerging technologies for military use, has initiated a $79 million project called Electrical Prescriptions (ElectRx), in this field. NIH's Stimulating Peripheral Activity to Relieve Conditions (SPARC) programme is another initiative that seeks to expand our current knowledge of nerve-organ interactions and propel progress in the field of neuromodulation. In October 2016, NIH also announced $20 million in funding for the field. The endeavour’s goal is to understand more about the body’s electrical circuit – the peripheral nervous system.

Catalysts of change