R&D news Focused ultrasound used to open the blood-brain barrier and clear toxic proteins in the brain
Dr. Vibhor Krishna (right) reviews a brain image with MRI technician, Brett Bryan as a part of a new clinical trial at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. Toxic proteins called amyloids are associated with several incurable diseases. A new clinical trial at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center uses a non-invasive procedure to open the blood-brain bar-
rier. While the blood-brain barrier acts as a protective layer to shield the brain from infections or pathogens in the blood, it can also make it next to impossible to deliver therapeutics to the brain to treat neurode-
generative diseases such as Alzheimer’s. “While it’s protective and beneficial for day-to-day brain function, when we think about therapeutics, the blood-brain barrier poses a significant challenge,” said Dr. Vibhor Krishna, a neurosurgeon at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. “The focused ultrasound procedure allows us to non-invasively access the brain tissue, so treatment can be administered straight to the site of pathology.” Through MRI imaging, doctors can target specific areas of the brain where amyloids exist. A helmet-like device then delivers 1,000 focused ultrasound waves that cause microbubbles in the blood which oscillate and open the blood-brain barrier. In this study, doctors aren’t delivering any medication. Instead, they hypothesize that once the blood-brain barrier is open, the patient’s own immune system may clear some of the amyloids. The procedure is performed three times at two-week intervals to allow for as much amyloid clearance as possible. Researchers are hopeful opening the blood-brain barrier may also apply to new treatments for brain tumors and epilepsy.
Aging seniors reap long-term health benefits from Edmonton-based artificial intelligence project Three Edmonton entities are combining forces to improve patient-centred interventions to support healthy aging. The project is a collaboration between Health City and Boehringer Ingelheim (Canada) Ltd. that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to examine data to predict frailty and its impact on chronic diseases like diabetes and heart disease. Edmonton AI and machine learning (ML) company, AltaML, will develop ML algorithms to combine data sets that will uncover predictions and patterns to answer key questions physicians are asking patients. The goal of the project is to enable healthcare teams to proactively identify patients who could benefit from individualized care such as fall prevention, medication review or social service interventions to mitigate frailty. “This is such a significant collaboration on so many levels for this city,” says Edmonton Mayor Don Iveson. “When I launched Health City in 2016, I knew that our region had the ability and opportu-
Edmonton Mayor Don Iveson nity to benefit from our world-class health research and innovative spirit. I am looking forward to more investment and jobs in this sector that result in economic prosperity for this region and ultimately impact the health and well-being of our citizens.”
Approximately one in four older adults are at risk of becoming frail and are at a greater risk for declining health, higher health care utilization, and loss of independence. Frailty is one of the most concerning realities of our aging population. “Our mandate is to drive economic development through innovation in the health sector in this region and this project is the first example of the kind of model we believe will do that,” says Health City CEO, Reg Joseph. “We’re excited that our partnership with Boehringer Ingelheim allows us to bring together this collaborative team from our vibrant health community to solve this very real challenge for our senior’s population, locally and nationally.” Including local organizations from the onset of the project lets them test their AI solutions in real-world situations, allowing them to eventually scale beyond the local region.
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