Ten-patient functional neurosurgery feasibility study shows potential for treating brain disorders with MR-guided focused ultrasound

A groundbreaking new study has paved the way for clinical studies on the noninvasive treatment of a broad spectrum of brain disorders including Parkinson's disease, epilepsy, stroke, and brain tumors.

A team at the University of Zürich, in Switzerland, has completed a pilot study using MR-guided focused ultrasound to treat 10 patients with neuropathic pain. The origin of pain in these patients included post-amputation phantom limb syndrome, nerve injury, stroke, trigeminal neuralgia, and post-herpetic neuralgia from shingles.  The findings will be published in a forthcoming issue of Annals of Neurology.

The study was partially funded by the Focused Ultrasound Surgery Foundation, which funds translational and clinical research into new therapeutic applications of MR-guided focused ultrasound (MRgFUS).

The preliminary results in these patients are comparable to those obtained with conventional therapy – radiofrequency ablation – an invasive procedure that involves making an incision in the scalp, drilling a hole in the skull, inserting an electrode through normal brain tissue into the thalamus, and using radiofrequency electromagnetic waves to create the lesion.

Functional neurosurgery involves alteration of the brain’s circuitry to treat various neurological conditions such as pain, movement, and behavioral disorders. It is a growing discipline that has developed over more than 60 years.  In general, treatment involves creating  lesions (destruction) in a neural circuit using radiofrequency ablation, or placing an electronic deep brain stimulator (DBS) to modulate the activity of a circuit.  Ablation has the advantage of treating the patient with a single procedure; however, it involves the risk of long-term neurological complications if the location of the lesion is suboptimal. 

Use of DBS has the advantage of reversibility in the event of improper location, but is far..

The education of clinicians is critical to the widespread adoption of MR-guided focused ultrasound. In an effort to increase the number of physicians trained in the use of this revolutionary technology, the Foundation offers fellowships that provide qualified physicians with combined clinical and research training opportunities in the field of MR-guided focused ultrasound. We are pleased to announce the following new fellowship recipients:

• Thilo Hoelscher, M.D. – A six-month fellowship to be carried out at the University of California, San Diego, under the mentorship of Dr. William Bradley. The fellowship will focus on the application of MR-guided focused ultrasound in the treatment of stroke. ($50,000)
• Julia Kamp, M.D. – A yearlong part-time fellowship to be carried out at Charité Berlin under the mentorship of Drs. Bernd Hamm and Alexander Beck. The focus of the fellowship will be on the use of MR-guided focused ultrasound for treating uterine fibroids in women seeking pregnancy. ($50,000)

With the addition of four more members since our last newsletter, our Research Advisory Committee (RAC) now numbers twenty-seven of the world’s experts in focused ultrasound. The RAC is a volunteer group that performs the vital function of reviewing all the research funding applications received by the Foundation. This selection process ensures that funding decisions are made with scientific rigor, with comments from the reviewers also fine-tuning the overall project plan. The Foundation welcomes to the RAC Alexander “Sasha” Bystritsky, M.D. (UCLA), Peter Scardino, M.D., F.A.C.S. (Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York), Anke Weissenborn, M.Sc. (Siemens), and Seung-Schik Yoo, Ph.D. (Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston). [click here for further details]

We also welcome Wladyslaw Gedroyc, M.D. (St Mary’s Hospital, London), who joins our Fellowship Advisory Committee (FAC). The Foundation funds fellowships that enable clinicians to gain valuable experience working with MRI-guided focused ultrasound equipment in clinical and research settings. Dr. Gedroyc is one of the world’s leading experts in MRI-guided focused ultrasound technology and also acts as a mentor for focused ultrasound fellows. [click here for further details]

Robin Jones joins the Foundation as the Director of Clinical Trials Coordination.  Robin’s 11 years of clinical research experience include project start-up for global studies, corporate training, and instructional design, site monitoring, investigative site support, and essential document review.  Prior to joining the Foundation, Robin worked as a manager of Clinical Operations for PRA International, a Contract Research Organization.  Initially, Robin will oversee the implementation of the Uterine Fibroid Patient Registry and the development of the Brain Program clinical trials.

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International Symposium on Therapeutic Ultrasound (ISTU 2009), September 24th - 26th, Aix en Provence, France. Among the exciting topics, it will feature 4 sessions dedicated to HIFU-mediated drug delivery, 2 sessions on HIFU applications in the brain, and a fundamental session on physics and bioeffects.

Other sessions also present the most recent research works on HIFU surgery, HIFU applications in the prostate, tissue erosion and sonothrombolysis. Finally, three sessions talk about guidance techniques monitoring, treatment planning, & quality assessment.

Be sure to visit the Focused Ultrasound Surgery Foundation's booth at ISTU to find out more about our Research Awards Program!

Discounted registration is still available until August 31st and discounted hotel booking through ISTU is available until August 28th.

More information can be found on the ISTU 2009 website.

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“Fibroid Relief At Last – Chicago” was held at Northwestern Memorial Hospital on June 9, 2009.  This first-of-its-kind event brought together patients, medical experts, and support groups dealing with uterine fibroids. The gathering created a forum for discussion, Q&A, and greater understanding of current options in fibroid relief. 

The event featured four panelists:  Executive Director Joy Polefrone, Ph.D., of Fibroid Relief, prominent Chicago gynecologists Leonard Lawson, M.D., and Richard Mintzer, M.D., of Medical Imaging of Northbrook Court, and patient advocate Frances Thomas. 

More than 50 attendees engaged in animated discussion for well over two hours!  We were thrilled with the response of participants and the high level of interest they displayed for continuing efforts in patient education and awareness in the Chicago Area.  We look forward to ongoing collaboration with treatment sites like Medical Imaging of Northbrook Court, working toward an increased understanding of uterine fibroids and the full range of treatments – specifically options that are minimally or non-invasive.

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An individual who wishes to remain anonymous has just donated $1 million to the Focused Ultrasound Surgery Foundation.  The funds will be used primarily to support research on the use of focused ultrasound for treating brain tumors.

Motivated by a strong personal as well as a family commitment to develop new possibilities for people with life-threatening brain tumors, the donor is excited to join others and invest in the Foundation’s important work – accelerating the development and adoption of non-invasive focused ultrasound treatment. 

Dr. Neal Kassell offered his comments about the importance of this gift: “We are at a critical juncture in focused ultrasound research, where investments of this magnitude can have an enormous multiplier effect on what can be accomplished in the next five years.  Generous gifts such as this one enable us to move quickly to expand the research and clinical trial network. Each gift helps us to shrink the normal 25-year process into a much shorter time.”

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Some of the articles we've featured recently on our website include:

• A summary of our March 2009 Brain Workshop
• Report from the World Society of Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery meeting
• Announcement of the 2010 MRgFUS International Symposium
• Podcast interview of FUS Foundation founder, Neal Kassell

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