The first bloodless ultrasound-guided surgery on an Alzheimer's patient was successfully completed in New York, under the guidance of Greek professor Eliza Konofagou. Konofagou, a professor of Biomedical Engineering and Radiology at Columbia University, has developed a groundbreaking method that is already being applied to incurable neurological diseases, breast cancer and cardiac arrhythmias.
Konofago's method allows the blood-brain barrier to be opened using ultrasound and bubbles, which facilitates the penetration of drugs into the brain. This approach allows for the treatment of diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's with existing drugs, which previously could not reach the brain in sufficient doses.
In an interview with iefimerida, Dr. Konofagou explained: “My team’s work included different scientific fields. From acoustic wave physics, combining ultrasound systems with neuronavigators, but also understanding the effects of ultrasound in combination with bubbles on brain tissue.” This interdisciplinary approach allowed the development of a prototype system that enables real-time monitoring.
The results of the method are particularly encouraging, especially for Parkinson's, where drug penetration is increased at least 2 to 7 times, allowing the restoration of the morphology and functionality of dopamine-producing neurons. This is a significant advance, given that dopamine is the substance that is reduced in the brains of Parkinson's patients.
Konofagos' non-invasive technique, which has FDA approval, was published in the American medical journal "Science Translational Medicine." In a study that included 55 patients with different forms of arrhythmia, the new method proved that it can complement existing diagnostic techniques, such as the electrocardiogram, which is not always accurate and is subject to subjective interpretations.
Potentially fatal arrhythmias can be treated through catheter ablation in the heart, but doctors must first identify the exact areas of heart tissue that are causing the abnormalities. Konofagos' method offers a new approach, reducing the margin for error.
Eliza Konofagou graduated from the Varvakeio Model School of Athens and studied Physical Chemistry at the University of Paris 6. She did her MSc in Biomedical Engineering at Imperial College London and received her PhD in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Houston in 1999. She currently directs the Ultrasound and Elastic Imaging Laboratory at Columbia University and is a member of the National Council for Research, Technology and Innovation (ESETEK) of Greece.
