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UCSF Medical Center using newest high-tech tool for brain disorders
December 04, 2007The most advanced noninvasive, radiosurgery tool for treating a variety of brain disorders--including tumors--is now being used by specialists at UCSF Medical Center. The new machine expands UCSF's ability to provide state-of-the-art, specialized care to patients.
Called the Leksell Gamma Knife Perfexion, the machine is the latest generation in gamma knife radiosurgery, a noninvasive technology that delivers a finely focused, high dose of radiation to a specific area of the brain. Its precision allows radiation to reach a particular target without damaging surrounding brain tissue, making it ideal for treating brain tumors. It is also effective for treating epilepsy, Parkinson's disease, trigeminal neuralgia (a nerve condition causing chronic pain) and abnormal blood vessel formations located deep in the brain. Abnormalities measuring less than one inch in diameter--the size of a tiny pebble--can be treated with gamma knife radiosurgery.
"This machine allows us to distribute a highly effective dose of radiation to diseased tissue more quickly and accurately than ever before," says Mitchel Berger, MD, professor and chairman of the UCSF Department of Neurological Surgery and director of the UCSF Brain Tumor Research Center. "Patients can be treated on an outpatient basis, in only a couple of hours, with little or no complications or side effects. This is a great benefit for patients who have already endured so much due to their diagnosis."
The new machine has greater flexibility and reach than the previous model, assisting UCSF neurosurgeons in treating more areas of the head and now the neck. Doses of radiation can be delivered to multiple target areas in one session, avoiding the need to move the patient or adjust the machine. This further reduces the amount of time a patient has to undergo treatment and reduces discomfort. Radiation exposure to other parts of the body is extremely low, making it an excellent treatment option for children and women of child-bearing age.
"This advanced technology coupled with UCSF's medical and research expertise ensures that patients with brain and neck lesions who are candidates for radiosurgery will continue to receive the most customized and innovative treatment available today," says Berger.
UCSF Medical Center is a pioneer in the use of technology to treat patients. The hospital was the first center in Northern California to use a Leksell Gamma Knife machine to treat brain disorders. Neurosurgeons have treated more than 6,000 target areas in more than 3,000 patients using the state-of-the-art technology. In addition, UCSF uses brain mapping, CyberKnife and surgical navigation systems to provide patients with the most comprehensive and advanced treatment options available today.
"But technology only takes you so far," reminds Berger. "Our world-class, multidisciplinary team of neurosurgeons, medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, nurses, dieticians and social workers sets us apart from other hospitals and is essential to ensuring our patients receive the best possible care resulting in the best possible outcome."
University of California - San Francisco
The new machine has greater flexibility and reach than the previous model, assisting UCSF neurosurgeons in treating more areas of the head and now the neck. Doses of radiation can be delivered to multiple target areas in one session, avoiding the need to move the patient or adjust the machine. This further reduces the amount of time a patient has to undergo treatment and reduces discomfort. Radiation exposure to other parts of the body is extremely low, making it an excellent treatment option for children and women of child-bearing age.
"This advanced technology coupled with UCSF's medical and research expertise ensures that patients with brain and neck lesions who are candidates for radiosurgery will continue to receive the most customized and innovative treatment available today," says Berger.
UCSF Medical Center is a pioneer in the use of technology to treat patients. The hospital was the first center in Northern California to use a Leksell Gamma Knife machine to treat brain disorders. Neurosurgeons have treated more than 6,000 target areas in more than 3,000 patients using the state-of-the-art technology. In addition, UCSF uses brain mapping, CyberKnife and surgical navigation systems to provide patients with the most comprehensive and advanced treatment options available today.
"But technology only takes you so far," reminds Berger. "Our world-class, multidisciplinary team of neurosurgeons, medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, nurses, dieticians and social workers sets us apart from other hospitals and is essential to ensuring our patients receive the best possible care resulting in the best possible outcome."
University of California - San Francisco
Radiosurgery Current Events and Radiosurgery News RSSJefferson neurosurgeon helps draft new treatment guidelines for brain metastases
New treatment guidelines for patients with brain metastases are now available from the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) and the Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS). David Andrews, M.D., F.A.C.S., professor and vice-chair of Clinical Services in the Department of Neurological Surgery at Jefferson Hospital for Neuroscience, served as a member of the task force chosen to draft this new, significant tool to improve the quality of care for patients who suffer from brain tumors.
Radiation therapy technique successfully treats pain in patients with advanced cancer
Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS), a radiation therapy procedure pioneered at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI) that precisely delivers a large dose of radiation to tumors, effectively controls pain in patients with cancer that has spread to the spine.
Radiation costs vary widely by delivery, U-M study finds
When cancer spreads to the bone, radiation treatments can help relieve the pain caused by the tumor. But how best to deliver the radiation may vary widely from one oncologist to the next.
Stereotactic radiosurgery preferred method of treating cancer patients with brain metastases
Cancer patients who receive stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) and whole brain radiation therapy (WBRT) for the treatment of metastatic brain tumors have more than twice the risk of developing learning and memory problems than those treated with SRS alone, according to researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.
Whole-brain radiotherapy after surgery or radiosurgery not recommended for brain metastases
Whole-brain radiotherapy should not be given routinely to all patients whose cancer has spread to the brain, say researchers who found that using it after surgery or radiosurgery in patients with a limited number of brain metastases and stable cancer in the rest of the body did not extend lives or help patients remain functionally independent for longer.
Brain metastases hijack neuron-supporting cells to resist chemotherapy
Cancer that spreads to other organs finds a particularly inviting hideout in the brain, where these metastases are usually far harder to treat than they are in other locations.
Lower-dose fractionated stereotactic radiotherapy results in better hearing preservation
Researchers at Thomas Jefferson University have found that a lower dose of fractionated stereotactic radiotherapy for acoustic neuromas results in better hearing preservation and has the same tumor local control rate as a higher dose of therapy.
Whole brain radiation increases risk of learning and memory problems in cancer patients
Cancer patients who receive stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) and whole brain radiation therapy (WBRT) for the treatment of metastatic brain tumors have more than twice the risk of developing learning and memory problems than those treated with SRS alone, according to new research from The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.
Jefferson oncologists show focused radiation is effective as surgery against nerve tumor
Specifically aimed, "stereotactic" radiation may be as good as surgery - and in some cases, even better - in treating benign but potentially devastating brain tumors called non-acoustic schwannomas.
Options improving for patients with acromegaly and gigantism, says endocrinology expert
Scientific, technological and medical advances made in the past two decades are leading to more definitive diagnoses, earlier and more effective treatment options and better outcomes for patients suffering from a condition called acromegaly.
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