Newswise — A pre-clinical study published this week in Science Translational Medicine suggests that focused ultrasound may hold a key to providing a non-invasive, non-pharmaceutical approach to treating Alzheimer’s disease.
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’s 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 reporting on the study. “Our research was very exploratory and we really didn’t expect to see such a massive effect,” study author Jürgen Götz told Reuters. “I’m really excited by this.”
This important work conducted by Götz and Gerhard Leinenga, neuroscience researchers who are experts in Alzheimer’s 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 data suggesting the benefit of focused ultrasound and microbubbles to open the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and reduce the plaque burden in a different Alzheimer’s model. Similarly, Foundation-funded preclinical research at Columbia University by Elisa Konofagou, PhD, safely opened the BBB to treat neurogenerative conditions—including Alzheimer’s.
Foundation Chairman Neal F. Kassell, MD, stated, “These 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.”
Although the research is still preliminary, having two validated approaches that use focused ultrasound to eliminate plaques is very promising. “This research makes a wonderful connection between the focused ultrasound community and the neuroscience community that studies Alzheimer’s disease at the most basic cellular level,” said the Foundation’s Chief Scientific Officer Jessica Foley, PhD. “The 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.”
The Foundation is organizing a steering committee to support additional Alzheimer’s 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’s 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 www.fusfoundation.org.
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