Ali Rezai (neurosurgeon)
Ali Rezai is a neurosurgeon advancing the use of brain chip implants in deep brain stimulation and neuromodulation to treat Parkinson's disease, obsessive-compulsive disorder, Alzheimer's disease and traumatic brain injury.
In 2014 Rezai led a surgical team who used a chip implant to decode and transmit signals from the motor cortex of a patient's brain to bypass spinal injury and restore limb movement, giving a paralyzed man the use of his hand. This surgical procedure presented a technological and breakthrough in neural engineering as the first ever account of limb reanimation.
Rezai is the executive chairman and director of the Rockefeller Neurosciences Institute at West Virginia University. He is the former director of Ohio State University's Neurological Institute and the University's Stanley D. and Joan H. Ross Chair in Neuromodulation and professor of neurosurgery and neuroscience.
Deep Brain Stimulation Technology
The technology of Deep Brain Stimulation is being applied to treat patients afflicted with Parkinson's disease and other movement disorders.The safety and efficacy of deep brain stimulation is also being studied at the ventral capsule/ventral striatum region to specifically modulate frontal lobe behavioral and cognitive networks as a novel treatment approach for Alzheimer's disease patients.
- Deep Brain Stimulation Treatment for Drug Addiction: On Nov. 1, 2019, Rezai surgically implanted a deep brain stimulator chip into the nucleus accumbens part of the human brain to reduce human cravings for drugs, particularly opioids. This marked the first time that Deep Brain Stimulation was performed in the United States for drug addiction. The procedure, approved by the US Food and Drug Administration, received funding from the National Institute on Drug Abuse. The patient, Gerod Buckhalter, age 33, was a drug abuser since age 15 and the first of four patients in this pilot program aimed at a small percentage of patients with treatment-resistant cravings for opioids. The operation was a first-in-the-U.S. clinical trial using deep brain stimulation for patients suffering from treatment-resistant opioid use disorder.
Innovations
- Non-Opioid Medication Treatment: On November 15, 2018, a team of approximately eight medical investigators at The Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute at West Virginia University conducted the nation's first phase III clinical trial using a tiny, pill-like micropellet implant made of a non-addictive, non-steroid medication that was placed into a patient's lower back to combat chronic pain caused from sciatica.
Research
- Alzheimer's Disease: West Virginia University's Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute has been chosen as the first site in the world to participate in phase II of a new clinical trial using ultrasound technology to help reverse the effects of Alzheimer's disease, and allow doctors access to parts of the brain affected by it.
- Parkinson's Disease: On May 3, 2016 at the Ohio State Wexner Medical Center, Dr. Ali Rezai and Neurologist Dr. Punit Agarwal performed brain stimulation surgery using an electrical lead attached to a pacemaker to control tremors from Parkinson's disease.
Education
Career
From 2011 to 2013, Rezai was president of the North American Neuromodulation Society. He is a past president of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons and the American Society of Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery. In September 2017, Rezai was appointed by West Virginia University and the Rockefeller family as the incoming director to lead neuroscience clinical studies and research for the new West Virginia University Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute.Honors and Awards
- Innovator of the Year Award, Cleveland Clinic, 2007
- Best Article of the Year Award, CNS Spectrums, 2004
- Best Paper of the Year, American Psychiatric Association, 2004
- American Association of Neurological Surgeons William H Sweet Investigator Award, 1998
- Congress of Neurological Surgeons Clinical Fellowship Award, 1997
- Bottrell Neurosurgical Award in Neurosurgery, 1997
Editorial Positions
- Editorial board, Neurosurgery Journal
- Editorial board, World Neurosurgery Journal
- Editorial board, Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery Journal
- Editorial board, Neuromodulation Journal
- Editorial board, Neurological Research Journal
- Co-editor, World Neurosurgery journal supplement, 2013
- Co-editor, Movement Disorders journal supplement, “Deep brain stimulation for Parkinson’s disease”, 2006
- Editor, Neurosurgery Clinics of North America: “Neurosurgery for Psychiatric Disorders”, 2003
Professional Society Positions
- President, North American Neuromodulation Society, 2011–2013
- President, Congress of Neurological Surgeons, 2012–2013
- Past president, American Society of Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery, June 2010–June 2012
- Annual Meeting Scientific Program chairman, North American Neuromodulation Society Meeting, 2009–2011
- Annual Meeting Program chairman, Congress of Neurological Surgeons Annual Meeting, 2010
- Vice-president, American Society of Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery
- Executive Committee, Congress of Neurological Surgeons, 2002–2013
- Board of Directors, North American Neuromodulation Society, 2004–2013Board of Directors, International Society of Reconstructive Neurosurgery, 2005–2013
Published Works
United States Patents Issued
- US Patent 6,167,311 - Method of treating psychological disorders by brain stimulation within the thalamus
- US Patent 6,356,786 - Method of treating palmar hyperhydrosis by electrical stimulation of the sympathetic nervous chain
- US Patent 6,356,787 - Method of treating facial blushing by electrical stimulation of the sympathetic nerve chain
- US Patent 6,418,344 - Method of treating psychiatric disorders by electrical stimulation within the orbitofrontal cerebral cortex
- US Patent 6,438,423 - Method of treating complex regional pain syndromes by electrical stimulation of the sympathetic nerve chain
- US Patent 6,609,030 - Method of treating psychiatric diseases by neuromodulation within the dorsomedial thalamus
- US Patent 6,708,064 - Modulation of the brain to affect psychiatric disorders
- US Patent 6,885,888 - Electrical stimulation of the sympathetic nerve chain
- US Patent 7,181,288 - Neuromodulation device and method of using the same
- US Patent 7,454,251- Excess lead retaining and management devices and methods of using same
- US Patent 7,477,945-Delivery device for stimulating the sympathetic nerve chain
- US Patent 7,493,168-Electrical stimulation to treat hair loss
- US Patent 7,532,938-Intraluminal electric assembly
- US Patent 7,623,927-Modulation of the brain to affect psychiatric disorders
- US Patent 7,640,063-Methods of treating medical conditions by neuromodulation of the cerebellar pathways
- US Patent 7,697,991-Methods of treating neurological conditions by neuromodulation of the interhemispheric fibers
- US Patent 7,715,912- System and method for providing a waveform for stimulating biological tissue
- US Patent 7,715,924-Adjustable stimulation device and method of using same
- US Patent 7,725,196-Corpus Collosum neuromodulation assembly
- US Patent 7,769,470-Neuromodulation device and method of using same
- US Patent 7,778,704-Electrical stimulation of the sympathetic nerve chain
- US Patent 7,831,308-Neural stimulation delivery device with independently moveable delivery structures
- US Patent 7,833,174-Method and apparatus for subcutaneously advancing a device between locations
- US Patent 7,865,237-Methods and systems of achieving hemodynamic control through Neuromodulation
- US Patent 7,877,146-Methods of treating medical conditions by neuromodulation of the sympathetic nervous system
- US Patent 8,046,075-Electrical stimulation of the sympathetic nerve chain
- US Patent 8,082,033-System and method for providing a waveform for stimulating biological tissue
- US Patent 8,112,154-Systems and methods for neuromodulation using pre-recorded waveforms
- US Patent 8,155,744- Neuromodulatory methods for treating pulmonary disorders
- US Patent 8,190,263- Methods of treating medical conditions by neuromodulation of the cerebellar pathways
- US Patent 8,229,564- Neuromodulatory Methods for Treating Pulmonary Disorders
- US Patent 8,364,285- Electrical stimulation of the sympathetic nerve chain
- US Patent 8,417,345- Corpus callosum neuromodulation assembly
- US Patent 8,538,536- Methods of improving neuropsychological function in patients with neurocognitive disorders
- US Patent 8,612,005 –B2 - Neurostimulation for Affecting Sleep Disorders
Special Presentations
- “Brain Pacemakers” Presentation to the President of the United States, George W. Bush, July 10, 2007
- “Traumatic Brain Injury: Diagnosis and Treatment” Presentation on Capitol Hill to members of the United States Senate and House of Representatives, June 27, 2007
- “Deep Brain Stimulation.” Presentation to Ohio Governor Ted Strickland. Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH, February 7, 2008
- “Traumatic Brain Injury: Implications” Social Security Administration Hearing, Washington, DC, November 18, 2008
- “Neurological Innovations.” Presentation to Mayor of Cleveland, Frank G. Jackson, April 6, 2009
- “Neuromodulation Overview.” Presentation to Ohio Governor John Kasich. The Ohio State University Medical Center, Columbus, OH, December 2, 2011
- “Neuromodulation and chronic disease” Presentation to the Cabinet of the Governor of Ohio. Ohio Statehouse, Columbus OH, January 20, 2012