Infections caused by drug-resistant pathogens are rapidly increasing in incidence and pose an urgent global health concern. New treatments are needed to address this critical situation while preventing further resistance...

An original wireless stimulator for peripheral nerves based on a metal loop (diameter ≈1 mm) that is powered by a transcranial magnetic stimulator (TMS) and does not require circuitry components is reported. The loop can be integrated in a chitosan scaffold that functions as a graft when applied onto transected nerves (graft‐antenna). The graft‐antenna is bonded to rat sciatic nerves by a laser without sutures; it does not migrate after implantation and is able to trigger steady compound muscle action potentials for 12 weeks (CMAP ≈1.3 mV). Eight weeks postoperatively, axon regeneration is facilitated in transected nerves that are repaired with the graft‐antenna and stimulated by the TMS for 1 h per week. The graft‐antenna is an innovative and minimally‐invasive device that functions concurrently as a wireless stimulator and adhesive scaffold for nerve repair.

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) with rose bengal has seen increasing use in clinical applications and has shown effective antifungal capacity in vitro. However, there is limited understanding of the effects of this emerging therapy at a genetic level. A rose bengal PDT screen using a green laser (λ = 532 nm) on the entire non-essential gene library of the model organism, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and a subsequent pilot patient study (n = 6 patients) in the treatment of onychomycosis caused by Trichophyton rubrum is reported. Of the 4800 yeast strains screened, 482 sensitive and 175 resistant strains are identified. The key biochemical pathways found to be affected included ergosterol biosynthesis, vacuolar acidification, and purine/S-adenosyl-l-methionine biosynthesis. The implications of these findings inform the clinical application of an optimized rose bengal PDT protocol involving nail treatment with a rose bengal solution (140 µm) and green light irradiation (fluence 763 J cm −2 ). All patients achieved complete cure within three to five treatment sessions in the absence of pain or other side effects. The outcome of the genetic screen may thus inform the development of more efficient clinical treatments using rose bengal PDT, as demonstrated in the successful treatment of onychomycosis.

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) with Rose Bengal has previously achieved eradication of Trichophyton rubrum infections causing toenail onychomycosis; however, its antifungal activity against other clinically relevant dermatophytes has yet to be studied. Here, we test the efficacy of PDT using Rose Bengal (140 μM) and 532 nm irradiation (101 J/cm 2) against Trichophyton mentagrophytes and Trichophyton interdigitale spores, in comparison to T. rubrum. A significant reduction (>99%) of T. mentagrophytes and T. interdigitale was observed, while actual eradication of viable T. rubrum was achieved (99.99%). Laser irradiation alone inhibited growth of T. rubrum (55.2%) and T. mentagrophytes (45.2%) significantly more than T. interdigitale (25.5%) (P = .0086), which may indicate an increased presence of fungal pigments, xanthomegnin and melanin. The findings suggest that Rose Bengal-PDT can act against a broader spectrum of fungal pathogens, and with continued development may be employed in a wider range of clinical antifungal applications.