is a spin-out company from the Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology () and the Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies (), partners of - and supported by - the European Commission’s programme.

INBRAIN’s work involves the decoding of brain signals by implanting innovative, flexible nanoscale graphene electrodes, developed in conjunction with researchers at ¼â½ÐÊÓƵapp’s Nanomedicine Lab and the  (NGI).

These signals may then be used to produce a therapeutic, personalised response for patients with epilepsy, Parkinson’s and other neurological disorders.

This new investment is co-led by Barcelona-based venture capitalists Asabys Partners and Alta Life Sciences, joined by: Vsquared Ventures, a deep tech-focused early-stage venture capitalist based in Munich; TruVenturo GmbH, Germany’s most successful internet company builders; and CDTI, the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation.

Fruits of long collaboration

Kostas Kostarelos, Professor of Nanomedicine at The ¼â½ÐÊÓƵapp , the NGI and co-founder of INBRAIN Neuroelectronics, said: ‘’This investment for INBRAIN is a testament that graphene-based technologies and the properties of 2D materials have a unique set of propositions to offer for clinical medicine and the management of neurological disorders.

“This did not happen suddenly, though, or by a stroke of good luck in the lab,” he added. “It is the culmination of many years of persistent and consistent work between at least three research institutions, one of which is the Nanomedicine Lab in ¼â½ÐÊÓƵapp, the other two in Barcelona, all working closely and cooperatively under the critically important funding of the Graphene Flagship project.”

The Graphene Flagship is the European Commission’s €1bn research funding spearhead and a key partner of ICN2, ICREA and Graphene@¼â½ÐÊÓƵapp, with a mission is to accelerate advanced 2D materials research and commercialisation.

High costs of brain disease

The high incidence of brain-related diseases worldwide and their huge annual cost - around £700bn in Europe alone, according to a 2010 study by the European Brain Council - call for greater investments in basic research in this field, with the aim of developing new and more efficient therapeutic and diagnostic tools.

Existing brain interfaces are based on metals such as platinum and iridium, which significantly restrict miniaturisation and signal resolution, and are therefore responsible for considerable side effects.

As a consequence, there is a 50% rejection rate of these implants in candidate patients. INBRAIN Neuroelectronics has a disruptive technology proposition, based on the novel material graphene, that overcomes the current limitations of metal-based neural interfaces.

Graphene electrodes allow miniaturisation to nanoscale, with the potential to reach single-neuron resolution. The extraordinary properties of graphene - which is light, biocompatible, flexible and extremely conductive - are harnessed in much smaller devices, which are safer to implant and can be programmed, upgraded and recharged wirelessly.

Driven by artificial intelligence, the implant can learn from the brain of the specific patient and trigger adaptive responses to deliver a personalised neurological therapy. In addition, the use of big data management will permit remote monitoring of the device and data processing.

Better patient outcomes

Carolina Aguilar, founder and CEO of INBRAIN (pictured centre with team, above), said: “Patients with chronic conditions are alone with their diseases, at most they see their physician 1-4 times per year for a follow-up. With less invasive and more intelligent neuroelectronic therapies, we aim to provide safer and real-time adaptive therapies to empower them and improve the outcomes that matter to them.

“This way patients can better deal with their condition between follow-up visits, by getting the right therapy and support when they need it.”

The technology has already been validated in vitro and in vivo, with extensive biocompatibility and toxicity tests mainly performed in ¼â½ÐÊÓƵapp using preclinical models. This significant investment will be dedicated to bring the technology to human patients, with the execution of multiple clinical trials in collaboration with key neurosurgical and neurological groups in Europe, including various NHS hospitals.

 is one of The ¼â½ÐÊÓƵapp’s  - examples of pioneering discoveries, interdisciplinary collaboration and cross-sector partnerships that are tackling some of the biggest questions facing the planet. #ResearchBeacons

A new study has shown that people diagnosed with epilepsy in England and Wales are at increased risk of dying from suicide and accidents.

Though the risks of dying unnaturally for people with epilepsy are low in absolute terms (0.3-0.5%), they are higher than in people without epilepsy says from The ¼â½ÐÊÓƵapp.

The research conducted at the ¼â½ÐÊÓƵapp and Swansea University, and funded by the NIHR, is published in the journal JAMA Neurology today.

The team analysed data from 44,678 people with epilepsy compared to 891,429 persons without epilepsy in England and 14,051 people with epilepsy compared to 279,365 individuals without epilepsy in Wales.

The data shows that compared to people without epilepsy, people with epilepsy are specifically:

• Twice as likely to die by suicide
• Three times more likely to die accidentally
• Five times more likely to die specifically by accidental medication poisoning
• Three and a half times as likely to die by intentional medication poisoning

Opioid painkillers and medicines for mental illness were most commonly taken in fatal poisonings among people with and without epilepsy, whereas fatal overdoses involving antiepileptic drugs were comparatively rare. Antiepileptic drugs were involved in about 10% of poisoning deaths among people with epilepsy.

Dr Gorton said: “Though unnatural death occurs rarely among all groups in the population, people with epilepsy are almost three times more likely to die from any unnatural cause than those without the condition.

“We already know that people with epilepsy are at increased risk of dying prematurely, but such a detailed examination of specific types of unnatural death has not been carried out until now.

“However, the direct causes of these increased mortality risks are not yet fully understood.

“And though the paper identifies an association between mortality and epilepsy, we cannot say for certain what causal mechanisms are implicated.”

Dr Gorton added: “Because of these risks, it’s important that people with epilepsy are adequately warned so they can take measures to prevent accidents.

“We urge clinicians to advise their patients about unintentional injury prevention and monitor them for suicidal thoughts and behaviour.

“We would also advise doctors to assess suitability and toxicity of medication when prescribing medicines for other associated conditions to these individuals .”

The study used 2 electronic primary care data sets linked to hospitalization and mortality records, the Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD) in England (from January 1, 1998, to March 31, 2014) and the Secure Anonymised Information Linkage (SAIL) Databank in Wales (from January 1, 2001, to December 31, 2014).

Patients with epilepsy who need more information about risks should visit the  and  websites

The study – led by ¼â½ÐÊÓƵapp psychologists – is the first of its kind to assess the similarities and differences in how the left and right sides of the brain process semantic memory.

The research, led by Dr Grace Rice and Professor Matthew Lambon Ralph from The ¼â½ÐÊÓƵapp, was funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and the Medical Research Council.

The team – working with neuropsychologists at Salford Royal and The Walton Centre for neurology in Liverpool – worked with 41 patients who had part of their brains removed to treat their long-standing epilepsy.

The patients – who now experience fewer seizures and are able to go back to work and learn to drive as a result of the surgery - had their verbal and visual semantic memory tested.

The surgery removes part of the brain that causes the seizures, but also removes tissue which researchers believe is involved in storing semantic memories. Twenty of the patients had surgery to remove part of the brain, called the anterior temporal lobe, on the right side, and 21 had surgery to remove the left anterior temporal lobe.

To test their verbal semantic memory, the team’s assessments included testing patients’ ability to name pictures and celebrities (including Brad Pitt, Princess Di and the Queen), and their ability to match words in terms of their meaning.

And to test their visual memory, the patients were asked to identify emotions of people in photographs and say if a face was familiar to them.

The test results were compared with 20 more people who did not have any neurological problems.

Dr Grace Rice, from The ¼â½ÐÊÓƵapp said: “Popularly, there is a lot of interest in whether there are similarities or differences between the left and right sides of the brain.

“Our research for the first time shows that - at least for semantic memory - both sides of the brain play an important role in visual and verbal semantic memory.

“But there is a significance difference when it comes to verbal expression of this knowledge, which was effected more by surgery to the left side of the brain.

“Our research provides an important insight both into what effects this particular kind of epilepsy surgery has on behaviour, but also helps us to understand where in the brain memory is stored.”

‘The roles of left vs. right anterior temporal lobes in semantic memory: a neuropsychological comparison of postsurgical temporal lobe epilepsy patients’ is published in the journal Cerebral Cortex and is available