Ultrasound Shows Promise in Treating Alzheimer's and Drug Addiction

Neurosurgeon Dr. Ali Rezai pioneers experimental procedure using ultrasound to target brain areas affected by Alzheimer's and drug addiction, with promising early results.

Dr. Ali Rezai, a neurosurgeon at the Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute, is pioneering the use of ultrasound in treating Alzheimer's disease and drug addiction.
In an experimental procedure, Dr. Rezai uses ultrasound to open the blood-brain barrier, allowing therapeutic drugs to quickly reach the brain and reduce beta-amyloid plaques, a key factor in Alzheimer's disease.
Initial results show that beta-amyloid plaques targeted with ultrasound were reduced 50% more than areas treated by infusion alone.
Dr. Rezai is also using ultrasound to target the nucleus accumbens, the reward center of the brain, in patients with severe drug addiction.
Of the 15 patients in the ultrasound clinical trials for drug addiction, 10 have remained completely drug free.

CBS News