Early Results Indicate Potential for Focused Ultrasound to Treat OCD

In a study of feasibility, safety and preliminary efficacy, four patients with disabling OCD unresponsive to medical therapy were treated by ablating small targets deep in the brain (anterior internal capsule) using the InSightec ExAblate Neuro MR-guided focused ultrasound system. This proof-of-concept study is being conducted with 12 patients by Jin Woo Chang, MD, PhD, at the Yonsei University Medical Center in Seoul, Korea. The results of the first four patients with six months follow-up were published.

All four patients had the targeted areas of the brain successfully ablated. The procedures were accomplished without complications or side effects and resulted in gradual improvement in obsessive-compulsive thoughts and behaviors as well as showing the nearly immediate and sustained improvement in depression and anxiety over six months.

"There is a need for non-invasive treatment options for patients with OCD that cannot be managed through medication," says Dr. Chang. "Using focused ultrasound, we were able to reduce the symptoms for these patients and help them get some of their life back without the risks or complications of the more invasive surgical approaches that are currently available."

"If these initial results are confirmed in the remaining eight patients in this study as well as in a larger pivotal trial of safety and efficacy, focused ultrasound could emerge as an alternative to surgery for improving quality of life in a cost-effective manner for patients with OCD," said Foundation Chairman Neal F. Kassell, MD. "This could also serve as the predicate for non-invasive therapy for other psychiatric disorders."

Dr. Chang plans to start a study using focused ultrasound to treat depression in 2015.

Read the Foundation's News Flash.

Current Treatment for OCDObsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a psychiatric disorder characterized by recurring anxiety-provoking thoughts (obsessions) that are alleviated only by ritualistic actions (compulsions) such as hand washing. OCD symptoms can be overwhelming and result in severe impairment and dysfunction. Patients also have a high risk for depression, with two-thirds of OCD patients developing major depression.

Although a large portion of OCD patients improve with drug therapy, some patients have debilitating symptoms that are resistant to treatment. For these patients, psychosurgery can be performed to destroy (ablate) a targeted region of the brain (anterior internal capsule) associated with the disorder. The currently available ablative approaches are invasive or involve radiation:

• Radiofrequency ablation requires drilling into the skull and inserting a probe through the brain.

• Stereotactic radiosurgery takes months to achieve an effect and may be associated with side effects of radiation.

• Deep brain stimulation has been used as a reversible and adjustable alternative to ablation, but it involves the risks and complications of surgery to implant the system and additional operations for battery changes.

About Focused UltrasoundFocused ultrasound is a revolutionary, early-stage therapeutic technology with the potential to transform the treatment of many serious medical disorders. This breakthrough technology uses ultrasonic energy guided by magnetic resonance or ultrasound imaging to treat tissue deep in the body without incisions or radiation. Multiple intersecting beams of ultrasound are directed and concentrated on a target as small as a grain of rice, much like a magnifying glass can focus multiple beams of light on a single point.

Focused ultrasound is currently approved in the U.S. to treat uterine fibroids and bone metastases, and there are a growing number of clinical applications in various stages of research and development around the world, including Parkinson’s disease, essential tremor, neuropathic pain, breast and prostate cancer, and brain tumors.

About the Focused Ultrasound FoundationThe Focused Ultrasound Foundation was created to improve the lives of millions of people worldwide by accelerating the development and adoption of focused ultrasound therapies. The Foundation works to clear the path to global adoption by coordinating and funding research, fostering collaboration among stakeholders, and building awareness of the technology among patients and professionals. The Foundation is dedicated to ensuring that focused ultrasound finds its place as a mainstream therapy for a range of conditions within years, not decades. Since its establishment in 2006, the Foundation has become the largest non-governmental source of funding for focused ultrasound research. More information about the Charlottesville, Virginia-based Foundation can be found at www.fusfoundation.org.