Focused ultrasound can be used to elicit an immunological healing response in patients with Alzheimer’s disease – and MRI can help providers see the results.
Based on the results of a first-class clinical trial from the University of West Virginia (WVU), researchers from the WVU School of Medicine and the Rockefeller Institute of Neurology (RNI) showed that ultrasound can effectively cross the blood clot. -brain to focus on the hippocampus. They recently published their results in Radiation.
“The blood-brain barrier has long been a challenge in treating the most severe brain disorders,” said Ali Rezai, MD, executive director of RNI and lead investigator of the clinical trial. “The ability to open a blood-brain barrier in deep areas of the brain, such as the hippocampus, offers new potential in developing treatments for Alzheimer’s disease. ”
This is where targeted ultrasound comes in, said Rashi Mehta, MD, associate professor of neuroradiology at WVU.
“Focused ultrasound is an innovative device and a new way to treat brain diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease,” she said. “Modern innovation is needed for Alzheimer’s disease because traditional approaches have not been effective.”
In this experiment, Mehta’s team used ultrasound to target the hippocampus because of its vital role in learning and memory. They enrolled three women – ages 61, 72, and 73 – who had early-onset Alzheimer’s disease and received three ultrasound treatments. Each treatment session, held at two-week intervals, used a 220-kHz transducer to open the blood-brain barrier and administer a microbial differential agent targeting the hippocampus and entorhinal cortex.
Using a 3.0T MRI with gadolinium enhanced color, the team observed the changes that occurred after treatment in each patient’s brain. The images showed the color moving forward through draining veins after each procedure. According to their analysis, the MRI images clearly showed the increase in post-operative interface within the targeted brain measurements, indicating that treatment had opened the blood-brain barrier immediately. creation. In addition, they said, parenchymal development was resolved within 24 hours after treatment, confirming that the blood-brain barrier had recurred.
It is important to note, she said, that the treatment did not have any side effects. In addition, the team did not use any medication in this clinical trial – the ultrasound treatment, alone, was sufficient to stimulate an immunological response.
“This pattern of imagery was invisible and enhanced our understanding of brain psychology,” Mehta explained. “The glymphatic system, which is a unique brain-moving and waste-cleaning system, has been studied in animals, but there is controversy over the existence of this system.”
The pattern of images they found, she said, not only supports the notion that the system is in humans, but also that ultrasound with a focus could alter the system’s mobile movement patterns and immunological responses. . Their evaluation of MRI results also indicates a possible immunological healing response around the drainage veins after the procedure.
“This view may be an important milestone in understanding the psychological mechanism by which the targeted ultrasound method alters brain amyloid levels and may be used to treat patients with Alzheimer’s disease. and treat other brain disorders, ”she said.
Work within the test is still ongoing. Ultimately, Mehta said, the team wants to be able to evaluate whether targeted ultrasound can reduce amyloid plaque reduction in patients with Alzheimer’s disease. The next step is to enroll more participants and look at the long-term effects of the treatment, examining its safety and effectiveness for slowing – or potentially reversing – its progress. ‘disease.
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