<\/p>\n
This wearable\u00a0device monitors levodopa, the gold standard drug for Parkinson’s disease, in a patient’s fingertip sweat. That same sweat also helps power the device. (David Baillot \/ UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering)<\/p>\n
By Talker<\/p>\n
By Stephen Beech<\/p>\n
A new sweat-powered fingertip patch accurately monitors medication levels in Parkinson’s disease<\/a> patients as accurately as a blood test, according to new research.<\/p>\n The soft, wearable device<\/a> continuously tracks drug levels in people with the debilitating condition through their perspiration.<\/p>\n American engineers who devised the patch explained that it operates using chemicals in the patient’s sweat \u2014 with no batteries required.<\/p>\n Its measurements were comparable to those obtained by standard laboratory blood tests, according to a study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences<\/a> (PNAS).<\/p>\n The team behind the device says it could enable doctors to precisely customize daily medication schedules for patients at home.<\/p>\n Study co-first author Tamoghna Saha, of the University of California San Diego<\/a>, said: “The patch monitors levodopa<\/a>, the gold-standard drug for managing the loss of motor control caused by Parkinson’s disease.<\/p>\n (Photo by Pixabay via Pexels)<\/p>\n By Talker<\/p>\n “Prescribing the right dose is challenging: reducing levodopa leaves patients unable to move, while too much triggers severe, uncontrollable jerking movements.<\/p>\n “Initially, the drug’s effects can last several hours.<\/p>\n “But as the disease progresses, the therapeutic window narrows down to two hours.<\/p>\n “Currently, clinicians must rely on subjective patient diaries to adjust treatment.<\/p>\n “Unfortunately, these methods fail to catch dangerous dosing gaps.<\/p>\n “The new wearable device offers a way to continuously track real-time concentrations of levodopa in the body.”<\/p>\n Saha says the patch is worn on the fingertip, which is packed with a high density of sweat glands.<\/p>\n The patch is equipped with a specially engineered absorbent gel that acts like a sweat sponge.<\/p>\n Saha said: “The gel contains a highly concentrated mixture of salts and benign solvents \u2014 and that draws sweat out of the pores, since water naturally flows toward areas with higher salt concentrations.<\/p>\n (Photo by Paul Groom Photography Bristol via Pexels)<\/p>\n By Talker<\/p>\n “When levodopa in the patient’s sweat comes into contact with enzymes embedded in the patch, it triggers a chemical reaction, which in turn generates a small, measurable voltage.<\/p>\n “This chemical reaction is what powers the patch.<\/p>\n “The amount of voltage generated also serves as an indicator of the patient’s levodopa level: lower voltage signals low levels, while higher voltage signals high levels.”<\/p>\n In clinical tests involving both healthy volunteers and Parkinson’s patients<\/a>, the patch tracked levodopa levels as accurately as standard lab blood tests, which take days to return results.<\/p>\n The data revealed that patients with Parkinson’s clear levodopa from their systems significantly faster than healthy individuals.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n