Phase I of this trial took place at Sunnybrook Health Sciences
Centre in Toronto, where the center’s team was able to reversibly
open the blood-brain barrier in Alzheimer’s patients. According
to WVUMedicine.org, the blood-brain barrier, which separates
the bloodstream from the brain tissue, limits many potentially
effective medicines and the immune system from reaching
diseased areas of the brain.
During the phase II trial, which took place at RNI in October
2018 and was led by Rezai, microscopic bubbles were injected
into the patient’s bloodstream, and when those bubbles were
exposed to focused ultrasound waves, the blood-brain barrier
located in the area targeted by those waves was temporarily
opened. The RNI team targeted the memory and cognitive
brain centers that are commonly impacted by the plaques
found in Alzheimer’s patients. This was the first procedure of
its kind in the world.
Judi, a 61-year-old nurse who has been an educator in Mor-
gantown’s neonatal nursing community for several years, was
the first patient in this trial. Due to her early-stage Alzhei-
mer’s and the resulting short-term memory loss, she had to
stop working.
During the three-hour procedure, the team successfully
accomplished the goal of opening up the blood-brain barrier
to reach the area affected by Alzheimer’s. Going forward, the
team will monitor and evaluate whether focused ultrasound
reduces the debilitating plaques and cognitive decline that
are the hallmarks of Alzheimer’s. This is a clinical trial, so
while Rezai is hopeful for positive outcomes, it is still too
early to tell what the end result will be. Based on previous
work and what is being seen, though, the team is optimistic
that this new technology will allow a unique, non-invasive
way of opening the blood-brain barrier and activating the
brain’s immune system.
INSIGHTEC selected RNI as the first site for the trial
because of its world-class team and its infrastructure for
finding solutions and rapid cycle innovation. The institute
brings together teams of industry and academia with a strong
focus on rapidly developing new ways to diagnose, monitor,
manage and treat some of the key disorders facing humanity.
With this being the first patient in the world to receive this
treatment, WVU Medicine is setting the stage for the state to
be considered a leader in the medical and technological fields.
The procedure required more than 50 specialists—including
engineers, physicists, neurologists, psychiatrists, neurosur-
geons, industry leaders, MRI and imaging specialists and
nursing staff—to come together for this trial.
“We are pleased West Virginia University was chosen as
the first site in the world to do this trial,” says Rezai. “We
have a unique culture here, which allows us to do many firsts
in the world in an agile fashion, but it’s not just about being
the first. It’s about accelerating the path for discovery and
innovation and deploying technologies together to help tackle
some of the big problems.”
Encouraging Alternatives for Chronic Pain
Like the astounding number of people who are facing
Alzheimer’s, chronic pain and addiction have also come to be
major issues, which has led to another major problem West
Virginia is facing: the opioid crisis. West Virginia, per capita,
Introductions
Dr. Ali Rezai
Ali Rezai, M.D., director of West Virginia University (WVU) Rockefeller
Neuroscience Institute (RNI), is a seasoned neurosurgeon whose
résumé reflects a long-standing passion for the neurosciences
and bringing relief to those who suffer from neurological and
degenerative issues.
Rezai earned his medical degree from the University of Southern
California and attended New York University for neurosurgical
training, and his subspecialty training in functional neurosurgery
was completed at the University of Toledo and the Karolinska
Institute in Sweden. He has served as director of the Center for
Functional and Restorative Neurosurgery at New York University
Medical Center, director of the Center for Neurological Restoration
and the Jane and Lee Seidman Chair in Functional Neurosurgery
at the Cleveland Clinic and as associate dean of neuroscience and
CEO of the Neurological Institute at The Ohio State University.
He came to WVU in September 2017 where, in addition to his
leadership role at RNI, he also serves as the executive chair and
vice president of neurosciences for WVU Medicine and as the
associate dean and John D. Rockefeller IV tenured professor in
neuroscience at the WVU School of Medicine.
Rezai’s areas of expertise include the neurological management
of patients with Parkinson’s disease, dystoria, chronic pain, brain
and spinal cord injuries, spasticity, depression and obsessive-
compulsive disorder. He has published more than 175 peer-
reviewed articles and 40 book chapters, and he serves on the
editorial board of five scientific journals. He has also been the
principal investigator (PI) and co-investigator on eight National
Institute of Health grants and the PI of Ohio’s Neurotechnology
Innovations Translator Center.
Rezai has been named one of the best doctors in America in Castle
and Connolly’s “Guide to America’s Top Doctors” from 2001-2017.
He is also the recipient of the Bottrell Neurosurgical Award, the
Congress of Neurological Surgeons Clinical Fellowship Award and
the American Association of Neurological Surgeons William Sweet
Investigator Award. He has received several innovation awards,
he holds 50 U.S. patents for medical devices and technologies,
and his inventions and innovations have resulted in the creation
of five startup companies.
Dr. Ali Rezai.