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People living with HIV need to take antiretroviral treatment for life to prevent the virus from multiplying in their body. But some people, known as 'post-treatment controllers,' have been able to discontinue their treatment while maintaining an undetectable viral load for several years. Starting treatment early could promote long-term control of the virus if treatment is discontinued. People living with HIV need to take antiretroviral treatment for life to prevent the virus from multiplying in their body. But some people, known as "post-treatment controllers," have been able to discontinue their treatment while maintaining an undetectable viral load for several years. Starting treatment early could promote long-term control of the virus if treatment is discontinued. Scientists from the Institut Pasteur, the CEA, Inserm, Université Paris Cité and Université Paris-Saclay, in collaboration with Institut Cochin[1] and with the support of MSD Avenir and ANRS Emerging Infectious Diseases, used an animal model to identify a window of opportunity for the introduction of treatment that promotes remission of HIV infection: it appears that starting treatment four weeks after infection promotes long-term control of the virus following the interruption of treatment after two years of antiretroviral therapy. These results highlight how important it is for people with HIV to be diagnosed and begin treatment as early as possible. The findings were published in the journal Nature Communications on January 11, 2024. Research on the VISCONTI cohort, composed of 30 post-treatment controllers, has provided proof of concept of possible long-term remission for people living with HIV. These individuals received early treatment that was maintained for several years. When they subsequently interrupted their antiretroviral treatment, they were capable of controlling viremia for a period lasting more than 20 years in some cases. At the time (in 2013), the team leading the VISCONTI study suggested that starting treatment early could promote control of the virus, but this remained to be proven. In this new study, the scientists used a primate model of SIV2 infection which allowed them to control all the parameters (sex, age, genetics, viral strain, etc.) that may have an impact on the development of immune responses and progression to disease. They compared groups that had received two years of treatment, starting either shortly after infection (in the acute phase) or several months after infection (in the chronic phase), or no treatment. The reproducible results show that starting treatment within four weeks of infection (as was the case for most of the participants in the VISCONTI study) strongly promotes viral control after discontinuation of treatment. This protective effect is lost if treatment is started just five months later. "We show the link between early treatment and control of infection after treatment interruption, and our study indicates that there is a window of opportunity to promote remission of HIV infection," comments Asier Sáez-Cirión, Head of the Institut Pasteur's Viral Reservoirs and Immune Control Unit and co-last author of the study. The scientists also demonstrated that early treatment promotes the development of an effective immune response against the virus. Although the antiviral CD8+ T immune cells developed in the first weeks after infection have very limited antiviral potential, the early introduction of long-term treatment promotes the development of memory CD8+ T cells, which have a stronger antiviral potential and are therefore capable of effectively controlling the viral rebound that occurs after treatment interruption. "We observed that early treatment maintained for two years optimizes the development of immune cells. They acquire an effective memory against the virus and can eliminate it naturally when viral rebound occurs after discontinuation of treatment," explains Asier Sáez-Cirión. These results confirm how important it is for people with HIV to be diagnosed and begin treatment as early as possible. "Starting treatment six months after infection, a delay that our study shows results in a loss of effectiveness, is already considered as a very short time frame compared with current clinical practice, with many people with HIV starting treatment years after infection because they are diagnosed too late," notes Roger Le Grand, Director of IDMIT (Infectious Disease Models for Innovative Therapies) and co-last author of the study. "Early treatment has a twofold effect: individually, as early treatment prevents diversification of the virus in the body and preserves and optimizes immune responses against the virus; and collectively, as it prevents the possibility of the virus spreading to other people," adds Asier Sáez-Cirión. Finally, these results should guide the development of novel immunotherapies targeting the immune cells involved in the remission of HIV infection. These are the initial results of the p-VISCONTI study, which began in 2015 in collaboration with the institutions cited above and received funding from MSD Avenir and the support of ANRS Emerging Infectious Diseases as part of the RHIVIERA consortium. [1] Institut Cochin is a biomedical research center affiliated with Inserm, the CNRS and Université Paris Cité. 2 SIV: simian immunodeficiency virus only affects non-human primates. SIV infection of animals recapitulates the key features of human HIV infection.

EMERYVILLE, Calif. and GRENOBLE, France, Nov. 15, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Injectsense Inc., a sensor-enabled digital health company, and sister company Injectpower, a developer of ultra-miniature solid-state microbatteries for medical applications, today announced combined funding of $9.4 million to bring highly integrated autonomous implantable devices – smaller than a grain of rice -- to production. Continue Reading Injectpower's solid-state microbattery for implantables or existing medical devices. The rechargeable lithium microbatteries can be as thin as a human hair and offer energy densities 5 to 10 times greater than current commercial capability and a lifetime of several thousands of cycles. The implantable sensors, which monitor key indicators over decades, offer a disruptive capability at a time when most diagnostic tools are a mere static snapshot. Physiological markers are typically dynamic and vary widely over a 24-hour period. Such is the case with glaucoma, where intraocular pressure (IOP) is measured in the doctor's office during daylight hours. Injectsense sensors measure IOP continuously, even during sleep, when pressure can spike significantly and cause vision loss over the long term. The funds will serve to further consolidate the two companies' combined global supply infrastructure to create an advanced medical device cluster for implantables based in France. The cluster will streamline business opportunities, enable improved supply chain management, and support Injectsense's February 2024 first-in-human studies for sensors that continuously measure intraocular pressure (IOP). Injectsense already produces hundreds of prototype devices and is ramping up to thousands in 2024. Besides IOP sensors, it is also producing sensors for intracranial pressure (ICP) measurement and is building a path to cardiovascular pressure monitoring applications.The funding consists of a $2.5M bridge investment from private investors for Injectsense as it moves into clinical IOP studies and final product development incorporating rigorous quality management systems. The funding also includes €6.5M (US$7M) for Injectpower, which is readying its energy-dense, solid-state lithium-ion technology for transfer to production."As a company driven by worldwide medical needs including learning more about the pathology of glaucoma, our infrastructure to support production must be global," said Ariel Cao, CEO/president and co-founder, Injectsense Inc. "We are excited to be moving towards full-scale battery production with the unique capabilities of Injectpower in our medical supply chain cluster, which will support our work in human clinical studies." Injectsense funding useInjectsense has provided sensors to Johns Hopkins University's Wilmer Eye Institute for animal testing under the guidance of Dr. Thomas Johnson III, M.D. The Institute is currently completing its study. The company used recent funding from the NIH for the latest iteration of its sensor. This version will be used for first-in-human studies by Dr. Juan Jose Mura in Santiago, Chile. The study will be conducted over months, with data available in late spring (and earlier for Injectsense's ophthalmic device partner), with the aim of collecting long-term safety and clinical data.The study will allow Injectsense to finalize its product development under its quality system for ramp-up to clinical studies in 2025. The Injectsense board of medical advisors, including glaucoma specialists from leading medical institutions, actively contribute on design considerations and in particular safety aspects of the in-office delivery and self-anchoring procedure. The final product, iOP-Connect™, will offer continuous and autonomous long-term measurement of IOP 24/7 over decades, with weekly recharging and data uploads. The iOP-Connect data analysis software will identify clinically actionable information based on parameters specified by the physician. Injectpower funding useInjectpower funding comes from private and commercial investors that include the IDEC Group, business angels from the French Silicon Valley as well as Bpifrance and banking partners. The company was founded in 2020 based on 20 years of technology development at French research institute CEA, and more than 40 patents. Injectpower aims to catalyze the energy storage market for medical implants. The company is building a proprietary 200mm MEMS fabrication facility in Grenoble, France, that will produce the batteries and other components.The company's technology enables customization of rechargeable lithium microbatteries as thin as a human hair. The batteries are safe and among the smallest and most integrated on the market today, offering energy densities 5 to 10 times greater than current commercial capability, high reliability and a lifetime of several thousands of cycles. The first components have already been developed, characterized and tested on a pre-commercial 200mm microelectronic supply chain with support from CEA/LETI, for Injectsense."We are convinced that the Injectpower solution is a game-changer in energy storage for medical applications," said Patrice Lafargue, president, IDEC Group, the leading investor in Injectpower through its investment fund Groupe IDEC Invest Innovation, and a major player in the pharmaceutical and cosmetics sector through its subsidiary IDEC Health. "Their vision addresses a true gap in this sector. We want to help the company to ready its product line and support them as they deploy this commercial tool in France." About Injectsense Injectsense is a sensor-enabled digital health company that enables tracking of progressive disease indicators and assessment of therapy effectiveness. The company's Silicon Valley and Twin Cities product teams combine cutting-edge advances in microelectronics with best-in-class medical device development and expertise. Its systems provide continuous, clinically actionable information through an implantable ultra-miniature sensor coupled with a secure digital health platform. Injectsense received Series B funding in April 2019 and is expecting to close a Series C round in 2024. Injectsense currently has development revenue from a major non-ophthalmic device company. It has established a supply chain with the capacity for hundreds of thousands of devices per month. The device is currently for clinical investigation only and is not commercially available. For more information visit injectsense.com. For more information contact: Tom Breunig Director of Communications Injectsense Inc. (510) 847-1637 [email protected] SOURCE Injectsense

A wireless “digital bridge” between a paralyzed patient’s brain and spinal cord has allowed him to walk naturally, researchers say. The experimental technology uses electronic implants on the brain and spinal cord to relay leg movement control signals, allowing 40-year-old Gert-Jan Oksam to walk again 12 years after a bicycle accident. Neuroscientists and neurosurgeons from Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV) and University of Lausanne (UNIL) published their research in Nature last week. “We have implanted Wimagine devices above the region of the brain that is responsible for controlling leg movements,” neurosurgeon Jocelyne Bloch explained in a news release. “These devices … decode the electrical signals generated by the brain when we think about walking. We also positioned a neurostimulator connected to an electrode array over the region of the spinal cord that controls leg movement.” Bloch and Grégoire Courtine, a neuroscience professor at EPFL, CHUV and UNIL, led the project through NeuroRestore, a EPFL and CHUV research and innovation center focused on restoring neurological functions through medical therapies. Previously: Paralyzed patients walk, swim and cycle with spinal cord neuromodulation implant Implants and algorithms made ‘digital bridge’ possible Developed by the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA), the implantable Wimagine brain device previously allowed a tetraplegic patient to control an exoskeleton . “Thanks to algorithms based on adaptive artificial intelligence methods, movement intentions are decoded in real-time from brain recordings,” said Guillaume Charvet, head of the brain-computer interface (BCI) program at CEA. The new system converts movement intentions from the brain into electrical stimulation sequences on the spinal cord to activate leg muscles as desired. This wireless digital bridge from the brain to electrodes placed on the part of the spinal cord that controls leg movements bypasses the injured part of the spinal cord. Oksam can now stand, walk, climb stairs — and enjoy a beer with friends at a bar while on his own two feet. “This simple pleasure represents a significant change in my life,” Oksam said in the news release. After the surgeries to implant the devices in the brain and on the spine, Oksam needed to learn how to use his legs again, but said it was a faster process than he expected. “The most surprising thing I think happened after two days,” Oksam said in the video below. “Within five to ten minutes, I could control my hips — the brain implant picked up what I was doing with my hips.” The researchers said they could measure “remarkable improvements” in Oksam’s sensory perceptions and motor skills even when the digital bridge was turned off, suggesting new nerve connections may have developed. Onward: The next steps Oksam is the first and only patient to “test pilot” the technology so far. But the researchers said the digital bridge approach between brain and spine could be used to restore arm and hand movements for spinal cord injury patients, or to treat paralysis due to stroke. The European Commission’s European Innovation Council is supporting commercial development of the technology through CEA, EPFL and medtech developer Onward Medical. Led by former Medtronic executive Dave Marver as CEO, Onward Medical makes external and implantable stimulation systems, including the implantable ARC-IM lead used in Oksam’s therapy. The company designed ARC-IM specifically to help spinal cord injury (SCI) patients regain movement and function. “This publication shows the remarkable potential of ARC Therapy to be enhanced with the introduction of a BCI, facilitating more natural movement based on the thoughts of a person living with paralysis,” Marver said about the research project. “We have positioned Onward as a leader in the BCI field with our unique understanding of spinal cord stimulation for people with SCI.” Onward Medical is headquartered in the Netherlands and said it also has a growing U.S. team in Boston. The company has won nine FDA breakthrough device designations. The most recent was for its ARC-IM therapy for spasticity in people with SCI. Onward is also exploring ARC-IM for improved blood pressure management, mobility, upper extremity function, and bladder control. Onward expects to start commercializing its products with the launch of its external ARC-EX as soon as this year or early next year, pending FDA de novo clearance for an upper limb indication.