The
WVU Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute team became the first to treat Alzheimer’s
patients with ultrasound technology.
Dr.
Ali R. Rezai, a neurosurgeon at WVU, led the team.
INSIGHTEC, an Israeli medical technology
company, after approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration selected the
WVU Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute as the first site in the United States
for that trial.
The ultrasound waves from a specialized
helmet with more than 1,000 probes target a precise spot in the brain that is
attacked my Alzheimer plaques. The ultrasound frequency osculates and opens up the
brain-blood barrier — a nearly impenetrable shield between the brain’s blood
vessels and cells that make up brain tissue.
The West Virginia team targeted the
hippocampus and the memory and cognitive centers of the brain that are impacted
by plaques found in patients with Alzheimer’s.
The first patient was West Virginia health
care worker and former WVU Children’s Hospital Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
nurse Judi Polak.
The procedure, which lasted three hours,
safely and successfully opened her blood-brain barrier for a record 36 hours. Similar
procedures are scheduled for Judi on Tuesday and in November.
“This
is man on the moon stuff,” Mark Polak said. “Maybe we’re on to something.”
I’ll add to that, Mark. This is WAY bigger
than WVU winning a national championship in any sport.
WVU has another pioneer, in the treatment
of C.Diff, which often hits hospital patients. That is Dr. Michael B. Edmond, a
Monongah High graduate who is professor of Internal Medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases at
Virginia Commonwealth University. Dr. Edmond is a pioneer in fecal
microbiota transplantation (FMT) as a treatment for Clostridium difficile, or
C. Diff. He uses fecal matter from relatives of the victim because their DNAs
are so similar.
Treating
Alzheimer’s and C.Diff through WVU researchers and graduates is WAY more
impressive than throwing a 50-yard TD pass or slam-dunking a basketball in a
game at WVU Coliseum. The sports is to make use feel good about ourselves. The
medical advances is to make us healthier. No comparison.
