January 11, 2024 - Alzheimer’s Disease Breakthrough and more news...

Also, liver tumor treatments begin

January 11, 2024 Alzheimer’s Disease Breakthrough: Focused Ultrasound May Help Clear Plaques Clinical trial results from testing focused ultrasound-induced blood-brain barrier opening with drug delivery in patients with Alzheimer’s disease were published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Data from the first three participants suggested that the procedure was safe, and there was a measurable reduction of amyloid-beta. Read More How it Works: Focused Ultrasound Opens the Blood–Brain Barrier In a recent editorial in the New England Journal of Medicine, Kullervo Hynynen, PhD, describes how focused ultrasound is being used to open the blood-brain barrier. Read his eloquent description of the science behind the Alzheimer’s disease clinical trial data that were recently published in the journal. See the Article The Top 10 Focused Ultrasound News Stories from 2023 Last year’s most-clicked articles included news about Parkinson's disease and new FDA approvals. Readers were also interested in newer applications of focused ultrasound, including for varicose veins and aortic valve stenosis. See the List HistoSonics Announces First Commercial Patients Treated for Liver Tumors The University of Rochester and the Cleveland Clinic have both begun treating patients with liver tumors using the company’s Edison system. Edison, which uses histotripsy to noninvasively and mechanically destroy tissue, earned US FDA clearance in October 2023. Read the Press Release Investigator Profile: Mishal Mendiratta-Lala, MD Mishal Mendiratta-Lala, MD, is an abdominal and cross-sectional interventional radiologist at the University of Michigan who led the US liver tumor histotripsy clinical trial (#HOPE4LIVER). She describes her preclinical and clinical research and plans to continue using histotripsy to treat patients with liver cancer. Read More Joe Kilroy Joins Foundation’s Research Program Team As Research Program Manager, Joe Kilroy, PhD, helps manage the Foundation’s funded research pipeline, grants, and select funded projects. He will also focus on building relationships among focused ultrasound stakeholders. Read More Insightec and Fosun Pharmaceuticals Partner to Advance Focused Ultrasound Brain Treatments in China The two companies have established a strategic partnership to expand focused ultrasound for essential tremor and Parkinson’s disease in the region. The news was announced at the recent China International Import Expo in Shanghai. Read the Press Release A New Focused Ultrasound Neuromodulation System for Preclinical Brain Research Researchers designed, built, and tested a new focused ultrasound neuromodulation system for preclinical brain research. The 64-element ultrasound array is controlled by electronic steering to target any region of the brain. Read More Focused Ultrasound Reimbursement Wins in 2023: A Timeline Securing reimbursement for new therapies like focused ultrasound is critical to its widespread adoption. This blog by Michael Broad, PhD, the Foundation’s Data Strategy Director, discusses key milestones from the past year. Read the Blog Submit Abstracts for STM 2024 The Society for Thermal Medicine’s May 2024 meeting will take place in Houston, Texas, with the theme “Delivering Clinical Solutions.” The deadline to submit abstracts is January 31. Learn More Forwarded this email by a friend? Sign up to receive these emails here. And Don't Miss Alzheimer’s Disease Publication Coverage | Alzheimer’s Drugs Might Get Into the Brain Faster with New Ultrasound Tool, Study Shows Register for Next ISTU Webinar | "Acoustic Tweezers: Design, System and Bio-application" by Hairong Zheng | January 18 at midnight Eastern Research Funding Opportunities | Read the Latest Government Bioscience Grants Report from G2G Consulting See Recent News Events January 18-19, 2024 European Symposium on Ultrasound Contrast Imaging 2024, Rotterdam, The Netherlands January 18-20, 2024 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium 2024, San Francisco, California, USA January 18-21, 2024 North American Neuromodulation Society (NANS) Annual Meeting 2024, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA See All Upcoming Events Do you have news for our newsletter? Tell us about it! “The Alzheimer’s disease study builds on a growing body of laboratory studies and clinical trials – much of which were funded by the Foundation – and we look forward to additional research that will lead to slowing disease progression and improving cognition in these patients.” ‒ Neal F. Kassell, MD