A research team from the Department of Neurosurgery at Brigham and Women’s Hospital has published its step-by-step “recipe” for combining microRNAs into genetic therapies. The new publication comes on the heels of earlier work that shows promise for a potential glioblastoma (GBM) gene therapy. In sharing their technique, the researchers hope to help others create transgenes that could target virtually any complex molecular pathway in a broad range of tumors and other disorders.
Read More

Increased immune system activity at the brain’s surface, or meningeal inflammation, is believed to be important for understanding how relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) — the most common early form of the disease — progresses to more advanced clinical stages. But the most commonly available MRI technology, 3 Tesla (3T), offers a limited view of meningeal inflammation.
Read More

A preliminary trial of focused ultrasound (FUS) to open the blood-brain barrier (BBB) in patients with glioblastoma (GBM) is underway at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and two other sites. One of the study’s first patients, treated by  neurosurgeon Alexandra J. Golby, MD, has shown that the barrier was breached safely and successfully.

The study is a first step toward using non-invasive FUS technology to deliver chemotherapy more effectively to the site of a brain tumor at concentrations higher than occurs with current treatments.
Read More

Using principles of industrial engineering and system dynamics, the stroke care team from Brigham and Women’s Hospital Department of Neurosurgery improved door-to-needle time for thrombectomy. Starting with a thorough assessment of workflow, the team replaced sequential processes with parallel ones, improved communication and transparency across the many disciplines involved, and increased awareness of how each role contributed to patient care. The result: Improved efficiency shortened the door-to-needle time that is a hallmark of quality in stroke care.
Read More

Progress in creating and evaluating a tau biomarker test at Brigham and Women’s Hospital is spurring rapid movement toward a blood-based screen to diagnose or predict risk for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) perhaps without the need for spinal fluid or imaging.
Read More

An intranasal vaccine for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is expected to begin its first human trial in 2020, culminating nearly 25 years of research led by Howard L. Weiner, MD, co-director of the Ann Romney Center for Neurologic Diseases at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

Read More

In a rare through-the-eyelid surgery, neurosurgeon Omar Arnaout, MD of Brigham and Women’s Hospital’s Department of Neurosurgery and collaborators from the Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery recently removed a recurring meningioma from the roof of the orbit. The patient, age 76, bypassed the ICU and was discharged to home the next day, with only non-prescription pain medication.
Read More