Researchers from the Queensland Brain Institute in Australia demonstrated that combining the injection of microbubbles and applying ultrasound across the brain using a system from Philips Research reduced the number and volume of amyloid plaques in mice genetically altered to model Alzheimer鈥檚 disease. In addition, they found that treated mice had improved memory over untreated ones.
Within just a few hours of publication, the research generated interest around the world, with many leading news sources . 鈥淥ur research was very exploratory and we really didn鈥檛 expect to see such a massive effect,鈥� study author J眉rgen G枚tz told . 鈥淚鈥檓 really excited by this.鈥�
This important work conducted by G枚tz and Gerhard Leinenga, neuroscience researchers who are experts in Alzheimer鈥檚 disease, corroborates studies done at Sunnybrook Research Institute under the leadership of focused ultrasound pioneer Kullervo Hynynen. Hynynen and his colleagues were the first to publish suggesting the benefit of focused ultrasound and microbubbles to open the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and reduce the plaque burden in a different Alzheimer鈥檚 model. Similarly, Foundation-funded at Columbia University by Elisa Konofagou, PhD, safely opened the BBB to treat neurogenerative conditions鈥攊ncluding Alzheimer鈥檚.
Foundation Chairman Neal F. Kassell, MD, stated, 鈥淭hese two studies in separate laboratories using different models are the essential predicate for a clinical trial. Combining these data with a successful safety and efficacy study for opening the blood-brain barrier, which is beginning soon at Sunnybrook, could get us there.鈥�
Although the research is still preliminary, having two validated approaches that use focused ultrasound to eliminate plaques is very promising. 鈥淭his research makes a wonderful connection between the focused ultrasound community and the neuroscience community that studies Alzheimer鈥檚 disease at the most basic cellular level,鈥� said the Foundation鈥檚 Chief Scientific Officer Jessica Foley, PhD. 鈥淭he attention that it is receiving will shed light on the important and immediate advances that are being made to treat a range of brain disorders.鈥�
The Foundation is organizing a steering committee to support additional Alzheimer鈥檚 research from pre-clinical stages to clinical trials.
About Focused UltrasoundFocused ultrasound is a revolutionary, early-stage therapeutic technology with the potential to transform the treatment of many serious medical disorders. This breakthrough technology uses ultrasonic energy guided by magnetic resonance or ultrasound imaging to treat tissue deep in the body without incisions or radiation. Multiple intersecting beams of ultrasound are directed and concentrated on a target as small as a grain of rice, much like a magnifying glass can focus multiple beams of light on a single point.
Focused ultrasound is currently approved in the U.S. to treat uterine fibroids and bone metastases, and there are a growing number of clinical applications in various stages of research and development around the world, including Parkinson鈥檚 disease, essential tremor, neuropathic pain, breast and prostate cancer, and brain tumors.
The Focused Ultrasound FoundationThe Focused Ultrasound Foundation was created to improve the lives of millions of people worldwide by accelerating the development and adoption of focused ultrasound therapies. The Foundation works to clear the path to global adoption by coordinating and funding research and educational activities, creating partnerships and fostering collaboration among stakeholders, and building awareness of the technology among patients and professionals. The Foundation is dedicated to ensuring that focused ultrasound finds its place as a mainstream therapy for a range of neurological disorders, including Parkinson's disease, epilepsy and stroke as well as uterine fibroids, cancer and other life-threatening conditions within years, not decades. Since its establishment in 2006, the Foundation has become the largest non-governmental source of funding for focused ultrasound research. More information about the Charlottesville, Virginia based Foundation can be found at .
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