An Italian neurosurgeon downplays Musk's project by inserting a brain implant

Italian neurosurgeon who specializes in brain transplants, Sergio Canavero, considered that the idea of ​​inserting an implant into the human brain, as announced by Elon Musk, is misleading news.

Canavero believes that the model proposed by the businessman is not only outdated, but also serves completely different purposes than what he mentioned.

The Italian surgeon said: What Musk is talking about has existed for a long time and is being applied in Switzerland, for example. This is a commercial trick, which talks about embodying the dream of entering and controlling virtual reality.

Canavero pointed out that Musk's technology, to which there are similar models, does not restore the body's sensory functions (sexual and sympathetic nervous system functions). Explaining that this requires connecting thousands of tiny connections, which in turn threatens infection and bleeding. Canavero expressed his conviction that this method is not suitable for treating patients with paralysis.

On January 28, Musk's neurotechnology company Neuralink inserted an implant into the human brain for the first time.

Elon Musk announced the emergence of Neuralink's first product, which he called "Telepathy," which allows humans to control the phone and computer with the power of thought.

Musk went further by saying that this technology should allow people who have lost control of their limbs to regain the ability to move.

An interesting new study has found that about one in 10 dementia patients can see an improvement in symptoms by treating the underlying liver problem.

One of the liver's main functions is to filter toxic substances, such as ammonia and manganese, from the blood that can disrupt communication between brain cells.

But when the organ fails, in a condition called cirrhosis, these compounds remain in the blood and can cause dementia-like symptoms.

Researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University, who analyzed data on 177,000 individuals diagnosed with dementia between 2009 and 2019, found that one in ten of them also showed signs of severe liver cirrhosis, or scarring of the organ.

They suggested that many of these cases may have been misdiagnosed and were suffering from hepatic encephalitis (HE), or a brain disorder with symptoms similar to dementia.

Unlike dementia, it can sometimes be reversed through medications, lifestyle changes or, in severe cases, surgery to transplant a healthy liver into the body.

The researchers point to two previous cases in which symptoms of dementia disappeared after liver treatment. If estimates are correct, about 670,000 Americans may have been incorrectly told they have dementia.

Cirrhosis is rarely detected in the early stages because it is a “silent” disease, and symptoms only appear when the damage becomes severe.

It can be caused by a variety of factors including long-term alcohol abuse, persistent viral infections, such as hepatitis, and obesity that leads to fatty liver disease.

But this condition can lead to brain dysfunction, as patients begin to suffer from confusion, mood changes, and impulsive behaviors, similar to dementia patients.

But doctors have noticed that some cases of cirrhosis cause irreversible damage to the blood vessels in the brain, leading to symptoms of dementia.

They also said that in some cases it was possible to develop both dementia, which can also be caused by amyloid-beta "clumps" in the brain, and liver cirrhosis at the same time.

Doctors say it is difficult to distinguish between patients with hepatitis C and those with dementia, because there is no single blood test to separate the two.

Identifying and treating HE (which is done using widely available medications) leads to improvements in mental function, the researchers said.

Previous research has linked liver disease to a higher risk of dementia or Alzheimer's disease.

But this paper may be the first to suggest that large numbers of dementia patients may be misdiagnosed.

The study was published in JAMA Network Open.