Alex Zhavoronkov Reports Three Drugs for Brain Disorders, Aging, and Neural Implants
Alex Zhavoronkov Reports Three Drugs for Brain Disorders, Aging, and Neural Implants
On August 4, Insilico Medicine founder Alex Zhavoronkov told GeneOnline about three “triple-purpose” drugs. Under his proposed approach, a drug is first tested for a specific disease, after which researchers examine its relevance to aging and inflammation in the tissue surrounding a brain-computer interface.
Under Zhavoronkov’s approach, a drug must first demonstrate clinical benefit in a specific disease. His “triple-purpose” framework connects this development path to two additional research questions: the biology of aging and the brain’s response to an implanted electrode.
In an invasive brain-computer interface, a microelectrode is inserted into the brain to record or stimulate neuronal activity. After implantation, innate immune cells respond to the injury and foreign material. Microglia and astrocytes change their states, and a glial scar may form around the electrode. A prolonged tissue response displaces active neurons away from the electrode and makes recordings less stable. Inflammation around the implant limits how long it can function reliably.
In a 2023 experiment in rats, researchers implanted a nonfunctional Utah array into the somatosensory cortex and observed persistent activation of inflammatory complexes at the electrode-tissue interface. These complexes activate inflammatory signaling after injury. Zhavoronkov identified NLRP3, a cellular sensor involved in this process, as a potential target.
“If you create an invasive neural interface, you cause neuroinflammation. I have three triple-purpose drugs that may work for neural interfaces, aging, and neurodegenerative diseases.”
In the GeneOnline interview, Zhavoronkov proposes developing a molecule for a neurodegenerative disease and then studying its relevance to aging and inflammation in the tissue surrounding an implant. In his framework, inflammation around the electrode becomes an additional research objective for a program that reaches patients through a specific disease indication.