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Fwd: Fw: First Alzheimer’s Trial with Focused Ultrasound Begins

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Honey Rusnak

3:37 PM (36 minutes ago)

to Dianne, Milton, Paul, me, Ken

U may find this interesting. Watch the You Tube on this man who had this done.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Ann Gile <vanana1@verizon.net>
Date: Fri, May 5, 2017 at 9:11 AM
Subject: Fw: First Alzheimer’s Trial with Focused Ultrasound Begins
To:

FYI (If you click on the picture, you can witness the volunteer plus other utube stories.)

From: Focused Ultrasound Foundation

Sent: Thursday, May 04, 2017 1:35 PM

To: Ann Gile

Subject: First Alzheimer’s Trial with Focused Ultrasound Begins

World's First FUS Trial for Alzheimer's

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First Alzheimer’s Trial with Focused Ultrasound Begins


	Watch as Alzheimer's patient Rick participates in the trial

Researchers at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto have begun the world’s first clinical trial evaluating the feasibility and safety of opening the blood-brain barrier (BBB) in patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) using focused ultrasound.

The BBB is a layer of tightly joined cells lining the brain's arteries that keeps harmful substances from entering the brain. Unfortunately, it also prevents certain drugs from reaching targets within the brain in adequate concentrations. An earlier study at Sunnybrook suggested that focused ultrasound can temporarily open the BBB by generating pressure on the lining of the blood vessels, enlarging the small gaps between cells and allowing cells and/or drugs to enter the brain.

For this trial, six Alzheimer’s patients, ages 50-85, will undergo two non-invasive focused ultrasound procedures. For the first stage, Insightec's Exablate Neuro device will apply focused ultrasound in a small area of the brain, and images will evaluate if the BBB was temporarily opened. In the second stage, approximately one month later, a similar procedure to the same patient will target a larger area of the brain, and additional images will again evaluate if the BBB is reopened. No drugs will be administered in the study.

“It is possible that focused ultrasound may provide an important method for more effectively delivering antibodies to the brain and may therefore one day be a treatment for Alzheimer’s – we just don’t yet know," says Sandra Black, MD, Senior Scientist and co-principal investigator at Sunnybrook. "It is important to note that at this point we are assessing only the feasibility and safety of opening the blood-brain barrier in these patients.”

“Results from our study will help us plan future clinical trials to establish what role focused ultrasound may play, whether alone or in conjunction with medical treatments, in the management of Alzheimer’s,” adds Nir Lipsman, MD, co-principal investigator.

Funded by the Focused Ultrasound Foundation, this study lays the groundwork for using focused ultrasound to enable medications to reach the brain that are typically too large to penetrate the BBB.

For more information on the clinical trial, which is open to Canadian residents only, contact focusedultrasound@sunnybrook.ca or call 416-480-6100, ext. 3773.

READ MORE >

READ SUNNYBROOK'S RELEASE >

Recent Media Coverage

Alzheimer's patients treated with ultrasound to open the blood-brain barrier on CTV News (video)

Alzheimer's trial to study opening blood-brain barrier with focused ultrasound on DOTmed.com

Focused ultrasound could transform brain treatment on TheRecord.com

About Alzheimer's Disease
Alzheimer’s is the most common neurodegenerative condition, and it's estimated that it will affect more than 13 million Americans by 2050. The accumulation of extracellular beta amyloid and intracellular neurofibrillary tangles are believed responsible for cell death and tissue loss in Alzheimer’s patients. Medical treatments to date have been only modestly effective at slowing cognitive decline and can only treat the symptoms.