The Hidden Benefit of ACE: Alzheimer’s Disease Prevention

HEALTH NEWS The Hidden Benefit of ACE: Alzheimer’s Disease Prevention A new study shows that turning up the activity of a blood pressure protein can clear beta-amyloid plaques from the brain. Drugs that are currently approved to treat Alzheimer’s disease address the symptoms, but do little to stop the steady loss of mental ability in the elderly. But a new study conducted by researchers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center offers clues to how the debilitating plaques that form in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s could be cleared away. The research, published today in The Journal of Clinical Investigation, is a long way from a cure for Alzheimer’s, a disease that affects some 5.5 million people in the U.S. and is expected to rise to 11 to 16 million by 2050. However, understanding the role that the immune system plays in this condition could lead the way to more effective treatments. Read More: A Brief History of Alzheimer’s Disease » Ramping Up ACE Protects the Brain Researchers focused on a naturally-occurring protein—angiotensin-converting enzyme, or ACE—that is found throughout the body. This enzyme is best known for its role in controlling blood pressure. Drugs called ACE inhibitors are used to treat high blood pressure by blocking the activity of the enzyme, leading to a widening of the blood vessels and a drop in blood pressure. But instead of lowering the effects of ACE, researchers ramped it up in specific cells in the immune systems of mice—including monocytes, macrophages, and microglia. Mice with the super-activated immune cells were then crossbred with mice that were genetically engineered to develop Alzheimer’s disease. Results showed that the offspring were protected from the effects of Alzheimer’s. In lab tests, their learning and memory skills were similar to those of normal mice. In addition, their brains showed a reduction in a protein—beta-amyloid—that has been associated with Alzheimer’s disease in humans. There was also a decrease in the number of brain plaques that occur when beta-amyloid proteins clump together. After initial tests, the researchers gave ACE inhibitors to the offspring mice. This reversed the brain benefits they experienced, implying that the enzyme was, in fact, responsible for protecting them from symptoms of Alzheimer’s. “We were absolutely astonished by the lack of Alzheimer’s-associated pathology in the crossed mice at the age of seven months and again at a 13-month follow-up,” said senior author Maya Koronyo-Hamaoui, an assistant professor of neurosurgery at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, in a press release. “Even more importantly, this strategy resulted in a near-complete prevention of the cognitive decline in this mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease.” Learn More: What Causes Alzheimer’s Disease? » Enzyme Clears Away Brain Plaques  Alzheimer’s is an age-related brain disorder that develops over a period of years. More than 90 percent of cases start after the age of 65, and symptoms include memory loss, confusion, and difficulty recognizing family and friends. Four drugs have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) treat the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease, but they don’t slow it’s progression, which eventually leads to a severe loss of mental function. Accumulation of beta-amyloid proteins in the brain—both in free form and as plaques—is associated with Alzheimer’s disease, although scientists still don’t know whether they directly cause the decline in mental ability. It is thought that the proteins may damage and destroy brain cells, as well as cause inflammation in the brain that further reduces mental function. Scientists also don’t know if the beta-amyloid proteins accumulate because the brain produces too much of them, or because the brain is unable to remove them quickly enough. By increasing the amount of ACE produced by immune cells that enter the brain, however, the researchers in this study were able to speed up the process by which beta-amyloid proteins are broken down and removed by the immune cells. Know the Signs and Symptoms of Alzheimer’s Disease » A Two-Pronged Approach To Prevention Because this research was done in mice, it will be a long time before it leads to practical treatments for Alzheimer’s disease in humans. In their paper, the researchers emphasize that, more importantly, their work proves that a two-prong approach to preventing damage done by beta-amyloid plaques in the brain can be successful. “While it is possible to envision a strategy for delivering ACE-overexpressing monocytes to patients,” the authors wrote, “perhaps the most informative finding of our studies is the effectiveness of combining an approach to enhance the immune response with that of delivering inflammatory cells to… destroy beta-amyloid.”

Spotlight on PLOS ONE’s Neuromapping and Therapeutics Collection

Launched in 2010, the Neuromapping and Therapeutics Collection is a unique collaboration between PLOS ONE and the Society for Brain Mapping and Therapeutics. The Neuromapping and Therapeutics Collection provides a forum for interdisciplinary research aimed at translation of knowledge across a number of fields such as neurosurgery, neurology, psychiatry, radiology, neuroscience, neuroengineering, and healthcare and policy issues that affect the treatment delivery and usage of related devices, drugs, and technologies. The Collection is open to submissions on these topics from any researcher—so far, 24 research papers have been published as part of this Collection. We spoke to Dr. Allyson Rosen, one of the members of the Society for Brain Mapping and Therapeutics who helps coordinate the Neuromapping and Therapeutics Collection, to discuss the latest news and research in this area, and the new submissions to the collection they’re hoping to see in the next few months: What’s exciting in Neuromapping and Therapeutics at the moment? It is exciting to see how creative scientists and clinicians are at solving important clinical problems by combining diverse techniques in innovative ways. We see our collection as a home for cross-disciplinary work that might not “fit” in traditional journals. For example, we have published MR methods to enable effective brain infusions and work that exploits computer-aided design for cranial reconstructions. There are invasive and non-invasive techniques for stimulating selective brain regions and creating focal lesions, such as transcranial magnetic stimulation, transcranial Doppler technology, and X-ray microplanar beam technology. There are also innovative analysis techniques that exploit powerful computational methods that were previously unavailable. What are the implications of President Obama’s commitment to Human Brain Mapping research? Given the high-profile nature of the Brain Mapping Initiative and the state of the US economy, we have advocated that there be some clinical implications to the announcement. We believe that this approach will ensure continued public support at a time of great need and uncertainty. Are there any specific research areas where you’d like to see more submissions to the Collection? We are proud of the work we’ve received and deeply impressed with the broad array of papers submitted so far. This is a testament to the creativity of our contributors, and we welcome their diversity. We particularly welcome work presented at the international meeting of the Society for Brain Mapping and Therapeutics that occurs in the spring of each year. Why do you think it’s important to publish this kind of research in an open access journal such as PLOS ONE? Our society is committed to being inclusive and welcoming any profession that seeks to improve the health and wellbeing of patients with brain disorders. An open access journal enables easier promotion of work we feel is important and encourages sharing among diverse disciplines. Often, truly cutting-edge work is so far ahead of its time that there is not yet an appreciation for its importance. Often, clinical problems are seen as practical but not necessarily novel. We appreciate the mission of PLOS ONE as upholding strong scientific integrity and not as triaging work based on arbitrary decisions regarding importance. To read more about this Collection, including new research papers like, “Verifying three-dimensional skull model reconstruction using cranial index of symmetry” and “Unique anti-glioblastoma activities of Hypericin are at the crossroad of biochemical and epigenetic events and culminate in Tumor Cell Differentiation,” click here. Come visit us at SFN 2013. Both the Society for Brain Mapping and Therapeutics and PLOS ONE will be attending SFN 2013 – please drop by booth #136 to say hello and learn more about the Collection. For instructions on how to submit to the Collection, please visit the Collection page and download the submission document. If you have any questions about this Collection, or any other PLOS Collections, please email collections@plos.org Image credit for Collection cover: Alka Joshi Image Credit: Society for Brain Mapping & Therapeutics

Dr. Ramin Rak Elected To Board Of Directors Of The Society For Brain Mapping And Therapeutics

Leading Neurosurgeon to Represent NY Area on the Board of Prominent International Scientific Group Aimed at Introducing Game-Changing Diagnostics, Treatments for Neurological Disorders;  Will Chair 2018 World Congress for Brain Mapping in NY ROCKVILLE CENTRE, NY – Leading neurosurgeon Ramin Rak, M.D., F.A.AN.S., F.A.C.S.,  Co-Surgical Director of the Long Island Brain Tumor Center at NSPC Brain & Spine Surgery (NSPC) (NSPC) and Director of the Brain Tumor Program at NS-LIJ Huntington Hospital, has been elected to the Board of Directors of the Society for Brain Mapping and Therapeutics (SBMT).  SBMT is one of the world’s leading multidisciplinary and translational neuroscience medical associations with a network of nearly 200,000 scientists, engineers, physicians and surgeons worldwide.  Dr. Rak will represent the New York area on the board of this prestigious international organization.  He was also appointed to chair the Science Committee for the 15th annual World Brain Mapping and Therapeutics Congress, which will take place in New York in 2018. Dr. Rak is a resident of Woodbury, NY. The SBMT board consists of the world’s leading neuroscientists, engineers, radiologists, neurologists and neurosurgeons involved in researching and applying paradigm-shifting technologies in the area of brain mapping and therapeutics in order to better prevent, diagnose and treat serious neurological disorders. SBMT is the leading global advocate for the brain mapping field and a strong supporter of  President Obama’s new “BRAIN” brain mapping initiative.  The Society also led formation of the Nano-Bio-Electronic Consortium of leading international scientists, with the purpose of integrating nanotechnology, devices, imaging, pharmaceuticals and cellular/stem cell therapeutics. “This is a new era in neurosurgery and neuroscience, and the Society for Brain Mapping and Therapeutics is at the forefront of these advances,” says Dr. Rak.  “A clear example of their forward-looking approach is their recent pioneering publication, The Textbook of Nanoneuroscience and Nanoneurosurgery.  It is a thrill to be part of this effort and an honor to join so many of the world’s leaders in brain mapping on the SBMT Board of Directors.” The Society for Brain Mapping and Therapeutics is a non-profit scientific society organized for the purpose of encouraging basic and clinical scientists who are interested in the areas of brain mapping, engineering, stem cells, nanotechnology, imaging and medical devices to improve the diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation of patients afflicted with neurological disorders. The Society achieves its mission through multi-disciplinary collaborations with government agencies, patient advocacy groups, educational institutes and industry as well as philanthropic organizations. “Nomination to the SBMT Board of Directors is based on criteria that include stellar academic accomplishments, exemplary and visionary leadership skills, unique personal characteristics and attributes,  and the ability to work closely with a diverse group of scientists in order to achieve the Society’s mission,” says Dr. Babak Kateb, Founding Chairman of the Board and Scientific Director of SBMT;  President of the Brain Mapping Foundation; Director of the National Center for NanoBioElectronics; Visiting Scientist at NASA/JPL; Senior Editor of PLoSOne-NeuroMapping and Therapeutics Journal; Editor of The Textbook of NanoNeuroscience and NanoNeurosurgery; and Researcher, Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Institute of the Department of Neurosurgery, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center (Los Angeles).  “Unlike other boards, the SBMT board is an eclectic selection of pioneers in the field and individuals with a unique vision for the future of the field of neuroscience and biomedical sciences in general.  I am confident that Dr. Rak’s visionary leadership and abilities will help us introduce new diagnostics and treatments by bringing scientists across disciplines together in our world congress in New York. ” Dr. Rak is one of the New York region’s leading experts in intraoperative brain mapping in brain tumor surgeries – the use of sophisticated imaging technologies to plan and guide surgery, in order to get the best understanding of each patient’s brain structure and function.  He uses brain mapping to guide awake craniotomies – operations in which the patient is awakened during surgery and asked to perform certain tasks in order to avoid touching brain areas that control critical functions (eloquent areas of the brain). In these procedures, Dr. Rak maps the patient’s brain using functional MRI (fMRI) scans before the surgery to begin identifying functional areas that are affected by the tumor.  fMRI scans are done at the same time as neuropsychological tests to see how and where the patient’s brain reacts when the patient completes certain tasks.  The fMRI scans are combined with standard MRI and other medical images and programmed into a sophisticated computerized neuronavigation system.  This creates a complete picture of brain anatomy and function, and their relationship to tumor structure.  These images are used to help guide the surgery. “The more we do these surgeries, the more we find out that every person’s brain is wired differently and our ability to treat many of these diseases is hindered by a lack of viable technologies and treatments.  This is why we need to think outside of the box, so that we can introduce new diagnostics and treatments for our patients, and this is why SBMT’s mission is so critical for our field and our patients,” says Dr. Rak, who recently returned from an advanced educational trip to France, where he worked closely for a week with Dr. Hugues Duffau.  Dr. Duffau is considered one of the pioneers of brain mapping. Dr. Rak is already in the process of setting up a series of meetings between SBMT leadership and leaders of the New York health care and scientific communities in order to jumpstart building of the NanoBioElectronic Consortium in the New York area. Dr. Rak expects to be involved in a number of research projects through his SBMT board membership.  He has scheduled a visit to California, where he will learn more about an advanced ultraviolet camera developed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and tested by Cedars-Sinai Medical Center scientists Drs. Keith L. Black, Babak Kateb, Shouleh Nikzad (NASA/JPL) and other colleagues at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Institute and NASA/JPL.  The current pilot study seeks to determine if the camera can provide visual detail that will help surgeons distinguish areas of healthy brain from deadly tumors called gliomas, which have irregular borders

Can we predict Alzheimer’s a decade before symptoms?

One day when she was 76 years old, Rosa Rodrigo took a wrong turn out of a shopping center parking lot and found she had no idea where to turn next. “It was a little scary because I didn’t remember where I came from, or where I was going,” she recalls. While Rodrigo and her family were alarmed, it was only after several more years of fading memory and worsening mental condition that Rodrigo was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Almost since the disease was identified back in 1906 by Dr. Alois Alzheimer, scientists have been looking for ways to identify it earlier. We do know the disease process begins in the brain 10 to 15 years before a patient’s symptoms start. And, by the time memory problems develop, 40% to 50% of a patient’s brain cells have already been affected or destroyed. There are certain hallmarks of Alzheimer’s, including the accumulation of sticky plaques in the brain, made up of proteins called beta amyloid. The problem is that current technology cannot conclusively confirm the presence of the plaques. Last year, the Food and Drug Administration approved a brain imaging test – a type of PET scan – to detect the presence of amyloid proteins in the brain. The FDA made clear, however, that the scan alone is not enough to diagnose Alzheimer’s. And, while examination of the spinal fluid or even a brain biopsy may offer a more definitive glimpse of what is happening in the brain, they require invasive procedures and it is not even clear who would be a candidate. In most instances, the best we have now is a clinical neurological exam after the patient has already suffered memory loss. That is why recent research caught my attention. Studying cadavers, researchers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles made an interesting observation: The amount of beta amyloid protein in the brain corresponded closely to the amount of that same protein in the retina, in the very back of the eye. It makes sense because, as our bodies develop from embryos, the retina is ultimately formed from the same tissue that makes up the brain. Based on that finding, the research team developed a noninvasive test to check the retina for the telltale beta amyloid plaques. They’re now conducting a clinical trial to see if the test can identify patients who are starting to develop Alzheimer’s but don’t show symptoms yet. Rosa Rodrigo knows that in a very real sense, her disease was caught too late. Most days, she copes with grace. “I don’t even worry about it. If I remember [something], fine. If I don’t, que sera, sera. What will be, will be,” she said. But even though she knows she won’t reap direct benefits, she signed up for the Cedars-Sinai trial. “I’m very happy I can help somebody.” We don’t know yet if the test will provide to be a good predictor of Alzheimer’s, but officials at the Chicago-based Alzheimer’s Association say the work is promising. This image from NeuroVision Imaging shows beta-amyloid plaques, highlighted in red, inside the retina.Neurovision Imaging A reliable eye test “would be a very important contribution,” says Maria Carrillo, the Vice-President of Medical and Scientific Relations at the Alzheimer’s Association. “People tend to go to the opthamologist more frequently as we age. If you could add a quick test to see if neurogenic pathology is going on the brain, it would be really helpful.” This research is important, because 1 in 8 people who are 65 and older have Alzheimer’s disease, and the incidence of the disease is expected to nearly triple by 2050 as the number of older Americans grows. The expected cost of care at that time is expected to be more than $1 trillion a year. The 10 warning signs of Alzheimer’s The trial at Cedars-Sinai is not the only one to focus on the eyes, Carrillo says. Another company, Cognoptix, has a test that looks for amyloid proteins in the lens of the eye. “We think it will provide greater sensitivity and specificity than looking in the retina,” says Paul Hartung, the company’s president and CEO. Cognoptix presented early data at the June meeting of the Alzheimer’s Association, and is currently in the midst of a clinical trial with 40 patients. If it proves effective, says Hartung, the test would run approximately one-tenth the cost of the PET scan procedure. VIDEO World’s Untold Stories: Dementia Village Another test being developed tracks subtle eye flickers known as saccadic movements, says Carrillo. “When people start to have cognitive changes, these movements become more erratic, and slower,” she explains. Yet another approach looks for changes in blood vessel infrastructure. “It may not be specific to Alzheimer’s,” Carrillo notes, “but a big part of this research initiative is trying to find what is different between this and other neurological disorders.” ‘Dementia village’ inspires new way to care Dr. Keith Black, a neurosurgeon who is leading the Cedars-Sinai trial and who helped found a company to develop the retinal imaging test, says the problem with treatments being tested currently is that they’re being given to patients at the end stage of the disease. “If we can identify patients at 50 who are accumulating these plaques, and stop these plaques from accumulating, we have a much better chance of having an effective treatment,” Black said. I want to be careful to not overstate the significance of early detection, however. While we doctors always love to catch things early, it is with the hope that it leads to earlier treatment. Unfortunately, with Alzheimer’s, there isn’t yet a treatment proven to cure or even slow down the disease. While it is certainly possible that a technology like this could present an opportunity to intervene earlier and to create strategies to measure the effectiveness of those interventions, the ultimate advice to patients may sound very familiar: Eat right and get plenty of physical exercise, which is something we should all be doing anyway. I do

Breakthrough Device To Treat Neurological Disorders

Operating theaters may be using pioneering exploring technology in form of an ultraviolet camera in the future. The system, developed by neurosurgeons and researchers from the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and the Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Institute could, if it works, give surgeons a real-time view of changes that are invisible to the naked eye when focused on brain tissue that are not even visible with magnification of current medical imaging technologies. Researchers are trying to determine in a pilot study whether the camera will be able to help surgeons in providing visual details to distinguish healthy areas of the brain from deadly tumors (gliomas). When gliomas spread into normal tissue, the borders of the tumor are irregular, like tentacles. Chair of the Neurosurgery Department, Keith L. Black, MD, director of the Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Institute and the Johnnie L. Cochran, Jr. Brain Tumor Center, commented: “Our goal is to revolutionize the way neurological disorders are treated. Ultraviolet imaging is one of several intraoperative technologies we are pursuing.” The long tentacles of the glioma present neurosurgeons with difficult challenges; if they surgically remove too much normal brain tissue the consequences could be catastrophic, yet not removing enough means that the cancer cells grow back quickly. According to Black, determining the precise line where tumor cells end and healthy cells start is always difficult, even with recent advances in medical imaging systems. He continued saying that it may be possible that an ultraviolet camera could see below the surface, because tumor cells are more active and need more energy than normal cells, the tumor cells accumulate a NADH, a specific chemical (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide hydrogenase) that is not visible in healthy cells. The camera, which is on loan from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, may capture the ultraviolet light, which is emitted by the NADH and display the area in a high-resolution image. Leading researcher Ray Chu, MD, a neurosurgeon and his co-principal investigator Babak Kateb, MD, a research scientist at Cedars-Sinai’s Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Institute and chairman of the board of the Society for Brain Mapping and Therapeutics, declared: “The ultraviolet imaging technique may provide a ‘metabolic map’ of tumors that could help us differentiate them from normal surrounding brain tissue, providing useful, real-time, intraoperative information.” Kateb commented: “This study and equipment-sharing arrangement represents the leading edge of an effort by Cedars-Sinai to develop the next generation of solutions for brain tumors, injuries and other neurological disorders right here at Cedars-Sinai’s Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Institute by introducing paradigm-shifting technologies into the field.” During the clinical trial, the researchers place the highly sensitive camera near the surgical field to record images as the neurosurgeon exposes and removes the tumor. The images will not be used in decision-making or surgical technique. To assess the ultraviolet technology’s efficacy during surgery, the images will be correlated with the appearance of the tumor, laboratory findings, and MRI and CT scans at a later stage. Written by Petra Rattue

AusBiotech secures Australian first with world brain mapping congress

AusBiotech is pleased to announce that the 11th Annual World Congress of the Society for Brain Mapping and Therapeutics (SBMT) will be held in Australia for the first time in March 2014. The annual world congress is a multidisciplinary forum designed to facilitate cross-pollination amongst specialists and industry to further advances in brain and spinal cord mapping and image-guided therapies. It attracts physicians, scientists, policy makers and funding agencies – to 40 sessions with over 200 speakers. Acting Chief Executive Officer of AusBiotech Glenn Cross made the announcement while attending the 10th SBMT Congress in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. “This is a big win for Australia and AusBiotech is honoured to be asked to organise this important international event,” he said. “It will provide an opportunity for Australian life sciences experts to showcase their work and advancements on the world stage.” AusBiotech has a long history of producing successful science and technology events, such as the AusBiotech annual conference. Through its AusEvents division (life sciences and technology events), the SBMT will be organised by an experienced and well-connected team. The theme for the 2014 Congress will be ‘Brain Therapeutics – bringing together engineering, science and medicine’. The program will highlight state-of-the-art science and technology in the field of neuroscience, engineering, neurosurgery, psychiatry, psychology, molecular biology, neurology, radiology and oncology, and will also feature emerging areas such as nanobiotechnology, stem cell and regenerative medicine, molecular psychiatry and microsurgery. The Congress committee is being co-convened by internationally acclaimed brain surgeon Dr Charlie Teo, Director of the Centre for Minimally Invasive Neurosurgery and Chairman of Neurosurgery at the Prince of Wales Private Hospital in Sydney, and stem cell specialist Associate Professor Kuldip Sidhu, Faculty of Medicine at the University of New South Wales. Dr Babak Kateb from the Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Institute in California will chair the organising committee. The 11th Annual World Congress for SBMT will be held from 17-19 March 2014 at the Four Seasons Hotel in Sydney. For information on congress bookings, abstract submissions or exhibition and partnership opportunities, contact Events Manager Kirsty Grimwade at kgrimwade@ausbiotech.org.

Aus to host first world brain mapping congress

Singapore: AusBiotech is holding 11th Annual World Congress of the Society for Brain Mapping and Therapeutics (SBMT) in Sydney, Australia, for the first time ever. The theme for the 2014 congress will be ‘Brain Therapeutics-bringing together engineering, science and medicine’. The program will highlight state-of-the-art science and technology in the field of neuroscience, engineering, neurosurgery, psychiatry, psychology, molecular biology, neurology, radiology and oncology, and will also feature emerging areas such as nano-biotechnology, stem cell and regenerative medicine, molecular psychiatry and micro-surgery. The annual world congress, which will be held during March 2014 and feature 40 sessions and over 200 speakers, will be a multidisciplinary forum designed to facilitate cross-pollination amongst specialists and the industry to further advances in brain and spinal cord mapping and image-guided therapies. It will attract physicians, scientists, policy makers and funding agencies. Dr Glenn Cross, CEO, AusBiotech, said that, “This is a big win for Australia and AusBiotech is honoured to be asked to organise this important international event. It will provide an opportunity for Australian life sciences experts to showcase their work and advancements on the world-stage.”

Neurosurgery Chair Invited to Speak to Congressional Neuroscience Caucus May 10

Keith L. Black, MD, will describe an experimental, noninvasive method to diagnose Alzheimer’s disease before cognitive symptoms begin Los Angeles – May 8, 2013 – Keith L. Black, MD, chair of the Department of Neurosurgery at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, will present information to the Congressional Neuroscience Caucus on a new, experimental method to provide early detection of Alzheimer’s disease. The noninvasive diagnostic procedure — which is in clinical trials — looks at the retina of the eye for early changes signaling the onset of Alzheimer’s. Black, director of the Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Institute, director of the Johnnie L. Cochran, Jr. Brain Tumor Center and the Ruth and Lawrence Harvey Chair in Neuroscience at Cedars-Sinai, is one of 10 speakers invited to participate at the panel’s second annual session on brain mapping, which will be from 10 a.m. to noon EST May 10 in the Gold Room of the Rayburn House Office Building, 45 Independence Ave. SW, Washington, D.C. The Congressional Neuroscience Caucus, co-chaired by Reps. Earl Blumenauer and Cathy McMorris Rodgers, aims “to build awareness of the intrinsic role brain research plays in understanding ourselves and our society, to help communicate the progress and the benefits of this research, and to help inform federal policy,” according to Blumenauer’s website. Members embrace “policies that encourage support for funding of quality neuroscience research (and) that enhance translation and dissemination of discoveries to maximize the medical and societal benefits of research.” Cedars-Sinai researchers showed that beta-amyloid protein plaques associated with Alzheimer’s disease occur not only in the brain but also in the retina in the back of the eye; the deposits can be seen in the retina even before they begin to accumulate in the brain. With these advances, the researchers developed a device that enables doctors to look through the eye — just as an ophthalmologist diagnoses retinal disease — to visualize amyloid plaques in the retina. Results of preclinical studies were encouraging, and the researchers now are working with major pharmaceutical companies to evaluate the technology in patient trials. The objective is to provide a quick, inexpensive, noninvasive way to screen patients for Alzheimer’s in its first stages so emerging treatments may be started early to slow or stop the progression of the disease. The Congressional Neuroscience Caucus’s annual brain mapping program is presented with the support of the Brain Mapping Foundation.

Society for Brain Mapping and Therapeutics (SBMT) announce the formation of American Board of Brain Mapping, its 2013 award recipients and its Brain Mapping Day at the US Congress

LOS ANGELES, April 12, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — President Obama said in his April 2nd speech “We have been a nation of dreamers and risk-takers; people who see what nobody else sees sooner than anybody else sees it.  We do innovation better than anybody else — and that makes our economy stronger. When we invest in the best ideas before anybody else does, our businesses and our workers can make the best products and deliver the best services before anybody else.” Babak Kateb, Founding Chairman of the Board of SBMT, attended the White House event at which President Obama announced a new federal effort to fund research that will constitute a major new Brain Mapping initiative. The SBMT Board of Directors had previously submitted a whitepaper to the White House and is part of the national dialogue about President Obama’s Brain Mapping Initiative.   “SBMT and Brain Mapping Foundation are naturally well positioned in playing a significant role in President Obama’s initiative. We are planning to establish a NanoBioElectronic Consortium, which will focus on integrating nanotechnology, stem cell, cellular and molecular biology, immunology, device and imaging,” said Babak Kateb, President of the Brain Mapping Foundation, Director of National Center for NanoBioElectronics, and Editor of the Textbook of Nanoneuroscience and Nanoneurosurgery. “We are also establishing the American Board of Brain Mapping in order to certify specialists in this field and planning to have a cross disciplinary doctoral program in nanobioelectronics in collaboration with one of the most prestigious universities in the US. This will help us integrate and translate technologies across multiple disciplines into neuroscience and train new generations of cross disciplinary thinkers and scientists.” The BRAIN Initiative is going to fund research on cutting-edge technologies, which could probe and or image the brain in order to better understand its structure and neuropatho-physiology as well as breaking new ground on the treatment, cure and prevention of neurological disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease, epilepsy, brain cancers and neurotrauma. “The standardization of training, technologies and introduction of technological solutions for neurological disorders need a body that could play a neutral role. SBMT for sure has the history, scientific credibility and the credential to ensure President Obama’s Initiative is a success,” said Warren Grundfest, Member of the board of SBMT, Professor Department of Bioengineering, Department of Electrical Engineering, Department of Surgery, UCLA Geffen school of Medicine The whitepaper, which is submitted by the SBMT board of directors to the White House, NIH, DARPA and DoD, calls for the formation of the National Alliance for NanoBioElectronics (NANBE), National Network for Human Brain and Specimen Banks (NNHBSB) and National Data Repository and Analysis for Neuroscience (NDRAN).   “We examined the entire national policy in neuroscience and tried to come up with a truly unique approach in order to address some of the fundamental problems in the field; we also believe that board certification is a necessary step toward standardization of the science and the technology in the field of brain mapping,” said Gary Steinberg, member of the SBMT board, Bernard and Ronni Lacroute-William Randolph Hearst Professor of Neurosurgery and the Neurosciences Director, Stanford Institute for Neuro-Innovation and Translational Neurosciences Chairman, Department of Neurosurgery, Stanford University School of Medicine SBMT is holding its annual meeting at the Baltimore Convention Center on May 12-14, featuring more than 45 scientific sessions and nearly 300 invited speakers. The meeting will cover all aspects of Brain and spinal cord mapping including neurosurgery, radiology, neurology, neuroscience, stem cell, engineering, psychiatry, immunology, brain bank, military medicine, space medicine and neurophtolmology, neurodegenerative disorders, autism, Parkinson’s disease and radiation oncology. This program is also jointly sponsored by the International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Imaging (ISMRM) this year and in 2012 was jointly sponsored by American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS). “SBMT is the most interdisciplinary and collaborative organization in the world in the field of Brain Mapping; the organization has brought together leading industry, academics, government entities, international partners and non-profits in order to introduce game-changing technologies into the field and in order to better prevent, diagnose and treat neurological disorders,” said Mitchel Berger, President of AANS, member of the board of SBMT, Professor and Chairman, Department of Neurological Surgery, Kathleen M. Plant Distinguished Professor, Director, Brain Tumor Surgery Program, Director, Neurosurgical Research Centers, Brain Tumor Research Center Pioneer in Medicine awards will be presented by the SBMT to Drs.: Congressman Jim Moran (D), Earl Blumenauer (D) and Cathy McMorris-Rodgers(R) will be accepting the Pioneer in Healthcare Policy Award for their role in advocating policies, which have been positively impacting neuroscience. Humanitarian award of Brain Mapping Foundation goes to the Founder of Cogent Inc., Ming Hsieh for his significant role in pushing the boundaries of the science through USC Ming Hsieh institute. Eric Bailey, Founder and CEO of Neurologica and Reese S. Terry Jr, co-founder of Cyberonics Inc are the recipients of the Pioneer in technology development. Brain Tumor Survivor, Singer/Songwriter, Beth Nielsen Chapman will be accepting the Beacon of Courage and Dedication award from the Foundation. “We are truly pleased to have such an amazing group of scientists, a key policymaker and industry leaders as well a talented brain tumor survivor and a humanitarian on our award list,” said Michael Roy, President of SBMT (2012-13), Professor of Medicine and Director of Internal Medicine at Uniformed Services University Health Science. SBMT is also holding a Brain Mapping Day at the US Congress on May 10th 2013 from 10-12 noon at the Gold Room in Reyburn building. “This is an annual event, which is focused on educating policymakers about the state-of-the-art brain mapping and therapeutics,” said Sujit S. Prabhu, member of the board of SBMT, Associate Professor, Department of Neurosurgery, MD Anderson Cancer Center. About Society for Brain Mapping and Therapeutics:www.WorldBrainMapping.org About Brain Mapping Foundation:www.BrainMappingFoundation.org Media Contact:Press@WorldBrainMapping.orgOrLeo Balthazor Leo@WorldBrainMapping.Org 310-5006196 SOURCE Society for Brain Mapping and Therapeutics

Brain Activity Map Project in Planning Stages

The US government is in the planning stages of a massive project to map the activity of the human brain, Story C. Landis, PhD, director of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, confirmed in an interview with Medscape Medical News this week. President Barack Obama alluded to investing in the “Brain Activity Map” project in his State of the Union address, saying, “Every dollar we invested to map the human genome returned $140 to our economy. Today, our scientists are mapping the human brain to unlock the answers to Alzheimer’s; developing drugs to regenerate damaged organs; devising new material to make batteries 10 times more powerful. “Now is not the time to gut these job-creating investments in science and innovation,” he said. “Now is the time to reach a level of research and development not seen since the height of the Space Race. We need to make those investments.” Brain Activity Map Project  A “concrete plan” for exactly how the project will unfold has yet to be ironed out, Dr. Landis said. It’s also not clear yet how much money the federal government will provide for the project, but a ballpark figure discussed is $300 million a year for a project slated to last 10 years. Dr. Landis said “work is now ongoing putting together a consortium of federal agencies that would be participating and there is interest from a number of different private foundations.” The Brain Activity Map project will piggyback on the Human Connectome Project, the National Institutes of Health–funded project to create a high-resolution map of the major structural and functional connections in the human brain. There has been “extraordinary progress” in understanding aspects of human brain organization, Dr. Landis said. “The Human Connectome Project is now beginning to produce data in the form of a structural wiring diagram of the human brain and how different areas are connected.” “But what we really need to understand is not just the anatomy but how information gets processed through those connections; in essence, how the human brain actually works. We are never going to get that through wiring diagrams. We really need to know about the function,” she explained. The goals of the Brain Activity Map project, she said, are to develop the tools to “listen in” to neurons as they perform tasks. “How does information go from one brain cell to the next brain cell? How is that information transformed? And ultimately how does processing through the different brain circuits end up giving us behavior, learning, memory, philosophy, etc.?” This knowledge, Dr. Landis said, should lead to new and better ways of treating neurologic and some psychiatric diseases. She offered, as an example, deep brain stimulation (DBS) for Parkinson’s disease. DBS, although effective, “is a very elementary way to influence how circuits in the brain function,” Dr. Landis explained. “It uses electrical current as sort of a brain pacemaker to change the way circuits involved in the disease work. But imagine if we understood in detail how information was processed through the circuits that control movement for Parkinson’s, or emotion for depression, we could potentially develop much better interventions.” Recently, as reported by Medscape Medical News, by use of a sophisticated brain–computer interface, a woman paralyzed from the neck down learned to control a robotic prosthetic arm with her thoughts and perform several activities of daily living. That achievement was possible, Dr. Landis said, “just with a rudimentary understanding we now have of brain circuits and activity in brain circuits; imagine what we could do with a greater understanding of brain activity.” High-Impact Project The Brain Activity Map project is a “very ambitious project, like the Human Genome Project, and like the Human Genome Project, this is going to require the development of a whole set of technologies which currently don’t exist or don’t exist in a form that would be required to do the study,” Dr. Landis said. For some time now, the neuroscience community has been thinking about the importance of understanding brain activity, and clusters of investigators are developing tools or thinking about the computational needs of the project. “There are many groups engaged in thinking about this and will be involved in the planning as this project goes forward,” Dr. Landis said. In an interview with Medscape Medical News, Babak Kateb, PhD, founding chairman of the board of the Society for Brain Mapping and Therapeutics and president of the Brain Mapping Foundation, said he’s “excited” by the project. He said his group has been “pushing” for this type of project and “policy change” for 10 years. “President Obama’s initiative is going to significantly impact the field of brain mapping,” Dr. Kateb said. He strongly believes that creating a consortium of neuroscientists to work together will be key to the project’s success. He noted that several separate groups are already working on different aspects of brain mapping. “If we could bring them together, it would be more efficient and reduce the cost of research; everyone gets their share of funding and everyone works together instead of competing against each other for funding. This way you’re competing against the disease not against each other.”