{"id":7737,"date":"2011-04-20T00:21:54","date_gmt":"2011-04-20T04:21:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/1boringoldman.com\/?p=7737"},"modified":"2013-09-17T20:11:24","modified_gmt":"2013-09-18T00:11:24","slug":"personalized-medicine-the-brain-resources-company-ii","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/1boringoldman.com\/index.php\/2011\/04\/20\/personalized-medicine-the-brain-resources-company-ii\/","title":{"rendered":"personalized medicine: the Brain Resources company II&#8230;"},"content":{"rendered":"<div align=\"justify\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"75\" hspace=\"4\" border=\"1\" align=\"left\" src=\"http:\/\/1boringoldman.com\/images\/br-6.jpg\" \/>In my last post, I tried to synopsize the first two of <strong><font color=\"#660033\">Brain Resource<\/font><\/strong>&#8216;s products &#8211; brain training and clinician support tools built from web-based instruments. Now its time to move up several notches to their third product[s] which they gather under the heading <strong><font color=\"#200020\">research solutions<\/font><\/strong>. In this instance, we&#8217;ll have to move beyond the confines of their <strong><font color=\"#660033\">Brain Resource<\/font><\/strong> web site which only outlines their <strong><font color=\"#300030\">iSPOT<\/font><\/strong>, <strong><font color=\"#300030\">Pharmaceutical Trials<\/font><\/strong>, and <strong><font color=\"#300030\">Discovery Science<\/font><\/strong> product offerings [some of which are works in progress] &#8211; moving to journal articles and clinical trials to flesh out the details.<\/div>\n<ul>\n<p align=\"justify\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.brainresource.com\/pharma_trials\/\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"132\" hspace=\"4\" height=\"155\" border=\"1\" align=\"left\" src=\"http:\/\/1boringoldman.com\/images\/br-6a.jpg\" \/><\/a>In this case, the research is on the part of <strong><font color=\"#660033\">Brain Resource<\/font><\/strong> themselves. They&#8217;ve initiated two large clinical trials&nbsp; whose aim is to discover biomarkers that will predict treatment response by casting a very wide net &#8211; adding&nbsp; brain imaging,&nbsp; genetic testing, electrophysiological testing, and some of the more traditional rating scales to their own proprietary brand of assessment. The link to Personalized Medicine is that they hope to predict medication choices by advance screening. I mentioned this enterprise earlier [<strong><font color=\"#200020\"><a href=\"http:\/\/1boringoldman.com\/index.php\/2011\/04\/16\/poking-holes\">poking holes&hellip;<\/a><\/font><\/strong>], but I wasn&#8217;t really up to speed so I&#8217;m going to begin by repeating what I showed earlier from their web site:<\/p>\n<table width=\"100%\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" border=\"0\">\n<tr>\n<td>\n<div align=\"justify\"><u><strong><font color=\"#200020\">International Study to Predict Optimized Treatment Response (iSPOT) &#8211; in depression and ADHD<\/font><\/strong><\/u><\/div>\n<p align=\"justify\"><font color=\"#200020\"><strong>iSPOT<\/strong> is the largest current Personalized Medicine research study in mental  health with the potential to change the way we treat depression and  ADHD. At present there &nbsp;is no way to objectively select the  correct antidepressant medication to be prescribed in the first  instance. Using all the methodology in the picture below, in a  standardized manner, iSPOT is assessing&nbsp; which brain and  body markers can predict the right medication for the right person at  the right time. This will help to personalize treatment in depression  and ADHD.<\/font><\/p>\n<div align=\"justify\"><font color=\"#200020\"><strong>Translational<\/strong> &ndash; clinicians will have less trial and error and more objectivity in selecting the right treatment.<\/font><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<p>                           <\/p>\n<div align=\"justify\">Currently, there are two Clinical Trials underway for iSPOT:<\/div>\n<ol>\n<div align=\"justify\">&bull; <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/clinicaltrials.gov\/ct2\/show\/NCT00863499\"><u><strong><font color=\"#300030\">iSPOT-A<\/font><\/strong><\/u><\/a> relates to kids with ADHD treated with Ritalin. The Primary Outcome Measure is &quot;to determine whether the  genetic-brain-cognition function markers (or combination of markers)  &#8216;normalise&#8217; with acute drug treatment in ADHD [6 weeks].&quot; The Secondary Outcome Measure is &quot;to determine whether markers of acute treatment prediction are also predictive of functional outcome over 6-12 months.&quot; <\/div>\n<div align=\"justify\">&bull; <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/clinicaltrials.gov\/ct2\/show\/NCT00693849\"><u><strong><font color=\"#300030\">iSPOT-D<\/font><\/strong><\/u><\/a> is an adult study with three groups with MDD treated with Celexa, Zoloft, or Effexor, and a group of healthy controls. The Primary Outcome Measure is &quot;to determine whether the genetic-brain-cognition function markers (or combination of markers) &#8216;normalise&#8217; with acute drug treatment in MDD [8 weeks].&quot; The Secondary Outcome Measure is &quot;to determine whether markers of acute treatment prediction are also predictive of functional outcome over 6-12 months.&quot; They&#8217;ve written-up the <strong><font color=\"#300030\">iSPOT-D<\/font><\/strong> study protocol:<\/div>\n<div align=\"center\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC3036635\/\"><u><strong><font color=\"#200020\">International   Study to Predict Optimized Treatment for Depression (iSPOT-D), a   randomized clinical trial: rationale and protocol.<\/font><\/strong><\/u> <\/a><br \/>                                 by Williams LM, Rush AJ, Koslow SH, Wisniewski SR, Cooper NJ, Nemeroff CB, Schatzberg AF, Gordon E.<br \/>                                  <strong>Trials<\/strong>. 2011 Jan 5;12:4.<\/div>\n<\/ol>\n<div align=\"justify\">This article is available in full text on the Internet and worth a look to see the impressive list of things they&#8217;re measuring looking for &quot;markers&quot; [including all the <strong><font color=\"#660033\">Brain Resource<\/font><\/strong> proprietary tests].<\/div>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<p align=\"justify\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.brainresource.com\/Pharma\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"132\" hspace=\"4\" height=\"155\" border=\"1\" align=\"left\" src=\"http:\/\/1boringoldman.com\/images\/br-6b.jpg\" \/><\/a><strong><font color=\"#660033\">Brain Resource<\/font><\/strong>, besides running its own clinical trials [<a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/clinicaltrials.gov\/ct2\/show\/NCT00863499\"><u><strong><font color=\"#300030\">iSPOT-A<\/font><\/strong><\/u><\/a> and <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/clinicaltrials.gov\/ct2\/show\/NCT00693849\"><u><strong><font color=\"#300030\">iSPOT-D<\/font><\/strong><\/u><\/a>] has developed some instruments for use in drug trials by others. <\/p>\n<div align=\"justify\">&bull; The <strong><font color=\"#200020\">Matrics Consensus Cognitive Battery<\/font><\/strong> is a set if psychometrics developed by the NIMH for measuring cognitive improvement in drug trials in Schizophrenia. <strong><font color=\"#660033\">Brain Resource<\/font><\/strong> has developed an alternative that does not require a trained psychometrist using a touch-sensitive screen they call <a href=\"http:\/\/test.brainresource.com\/files\/The%20MATRICS%20Initiative.pdf\" target=\"_blank\"><u><strong><font color=\"#660033\">IntegNeuro<\/font><\/strong><\/u><\/a> for Cognitive Impairment Associated with Schizophrenia [CIAS].<\/div>\n<div align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" vspace=\"7\" border=\"0\" src=\"http:\/\/1boringoldman.com\/images\/br-12.gif\" \/><\/div>\n<div align=\"justify\">&bull; <a href=\"http:\/\/test.brainresource.com\/files\/Risk%20Assessments%20for%20Convulsions.pdf\" target=\"_blank\"><u><strong><font color=\"#660033\">Risk Assessment for Convulsions<\/font><\/strong><\/u><\/a>: Brain Resources is involved in searching for predictive Biomarkers. In this case, they have three categories:<\/div>\n<ol>\n<div align=\"justify\"><sup>1. &quot;There are 3 measures of EEG activity that have been shown to reflect brain instability and the potential for epileptiform phenomena. The first measure of Brain instability is reflected in quantitative EEG variability from epoch to epoch across a selected recording period. A second measure reflects the &lsquo;peakiness&rsquo; of Alpha activity sharpening and the increase in &lsquo;peakiness&rsquo; of Theta activity. Alpha sharpening has been shown to predict Grand Mal Epilepsy and Theta sharpening can result in Petit Mal Epilepsy. The third measure concerns overall EEG brain stability.&quot;<\/sup><\/div>\n<div align=\"justify\"><sup>2. &quot;Brain Resource owns the IP to fit the model parameters to individual subjects. In essence, the model considers the excitatory gain in the cortex (the Ge parameter) in the EEG Biophysical Model, as well asthalamo-cortical excitation (GeSe parameter). An increase in gain excitation in either the cortex or thalamo-cortex can be considered a marker for potential brain instability, tipping toward convulsive phenomena.&quot;<\/sup> <\/div>\n<div><sup>3. &quot;Simultaneous Measure of Arousal and EEG: In Brain Resource&rsquo;s standardized methodology we simultaneously measure EEGs, heart rate and sweat rate. An increase in Arousal reflects an excitatory drift, and the extent of this excitatory gain can act as a global marker for the risk of brain instability.&quot;<\/sup><\/div>\n<\/ol>\n<div align=\"justify\">Their idea is to use these Biomarkers in drug trials to determine a drug&#8217;s risk for brain instability.<\/div>\n<ol>\n<div><sup>&quot;The use of the above Biomarkers can be complimented with the use of insights obtained from our database &#8230; which is the largest standardized brain database in the world. Using our database, we can determine the variance for each of these Markers particular to each age range in which the compound is being assessed&#8230; This frame of reference allows us to determine the extent of change .. that may indicate a threshold for risk for brain instability for your compound.&quot;<\/sup><\/div>\n<\/ol>\n<div align=\"justify\">&bull; <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"142\" hspace=\"4\" height=\"306\" border=\"0\" align=\"right\" src=\"http:\/\/1boringoldman.com\/images\/br-14.gif\" \/><a href=\"http:\/\/test.brainresource.com\/files\/Integrative%20Platform%20for%20New%20Drug%20Discovery.pdf\" target=\"_blank\"><u><strong><font color=\"#660033\">Integrative Platform for New Drug Discovery<\/font><\/strong><\/u><\/a>: This is the big one and explains the reason for their expansive database.<\/div>\n<div align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" vspace=\"7\" border=\"0\" src=\"http:\/\/1boringoldman.com\/images\/br-13.jpg\" \/><\/div>\n<div align=\"justify\"> By maintaining &quot;the world&#8217;s largest database&quot; of simultaneous measures of brain parameters [genomics, electrical function, blood flow, structure, general cognition, and social cognition] in multiple conditions, they propose to develop Biomarkers associated with these conditions. The idea is to give a new drug and measure all of these parameters, compare it to the database focusing on biomarker profiles of the various conditions, thereby predicting which condition that drug might be used for. In the <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/test.brainresource.com\/files\/Integrative%20Platform%20for%20New%20Drug%20Discovery.pdf\"><u><strong><font color=\"#660033\">pdf<\/font><\/strong><\/u><\/a> [slow to load], they describe this process and their various partnerships involved in the process.            <\/div>\n<div align=\"center\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"460\" vspace=\"5\" height=\"260\" border=\"0\" src=\"http:\/\/1boringoldman.com\/images\/br-15.gif\" \/><\/div>\n<div align=\"justify\">And back to Personalized Medicine:<\/div>\n<div align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"330\" vspace=\"5\" border=\"0\" src=\"http:\/\/1boringoldman.com\/images\/br-16.jpg\" \/><\/div>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<p align=\"justify\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.brainresource.com\/index.php?id=216\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"132\" hspace=\"4\" height=\"155\" border=\"1\" align=\"left\" src=\"http:\/\/1boringoldman.com\/images\/br-6c.jpg\" \/><\/a>There is another research product they call the Discovery Science option with which the offer their proprietary instruments to non-grant supported and non-profit organizations at &quot;greatly&quot; reduced rates. I&#8217;ve digested the information from this option because the pdf&#8217;s included in their write-up offer you the best opportunity to look at the various products one at a time &#8211; particularly the non-questionnaire options [<strong><font color=\"#400040\">LabNeuro<\/font><\/strong>, <font color=\"#400040\"><strong>MRI-Neuro<\/strong><\/font>, and<font color=\"#400040\"><strong> <\/strong><\/font><font color=\"#400040\"><strong>Molecular-Neuro<\/strong><\/font>]. Unless I missed something along the way, I think this is the finale &#8211; the last of the <strong><font color=\"#660033\">Brain Resource<\/font><\/strong> products.<\/p>\n<table width=\"100%\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" border=\"0\">\n<tr>\n<td>\n<div align=\"justify\">The Discovery Science offering grants independent researchers  special access to the Brain Resource methodology at greatly reduced  rates: Researchers performing academic research aimed at scientific publication and Independent, not for profit Researchers. Services include: access to standardized Brain Resource testing software; rapid scoring of data; and delivery of datasets in comma-delimited format at 3 monthly intervals.<\/div>\n<ol>\n<div>&bull; <u><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.brainresource.com\/files\/Discovery%20Science%20Questionnaires.pdf\"><font color=\"#200020\">Screening Questionnaires<\/font><\/a><\/strong><\/u><a href=\"http:\/\/www.brainresource.com\/files\/Discovery%20Science%20Questionnaires.pdf\"><font color=\"#200020\"> [PDF 100kb]:<\/font><\/a>    <\/p>\n<div align=\"justify\">   &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<strong><font color=\"#400040\">BRISC:<\/font><\/strong> web-based questionnaire assessment of emotional cognition.    <\/div>\n<div align=\"justify\">   &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<strong><font color=\"#400040\">WebQ:<\/font><\/strong> set of 22 web-based demographics questionnaires.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div align=\"justify\">&bull; <a href=\"http:\/\/www.brainresource.com\/files\/Discovery%20Science%20-%20General%20and%20Emotion%20Cognition.pdf\"><font color=\"#200020\"><u><strong>General and Emotional Cognition<\/strong><\/u> [PDF 107kb]:<\/font><\/a>    <\/div>\n<div align=\"justify\">   &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.brainresource.com\/uploads\/DS_Key_test_Platforms_WebNeuro.pdf\"><u><strong><font color=\"#400040\">WebNeuro<\/font><\/strong><\/u> [PDF 266kb] :<\/a> web-based assessments of general and emotional cognition.    <\/div>\n<div align=\"justify\">   &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.brainresource.com\/files\/DS%20Key%20test%20Platforms%20IntegNeuro.pdf\"><u><strong><font color=\"#400040\">IntegNeuro<\/font><\/strong><\/u>    [PDF 254kb]:<\/a> automated touchscreen neuropsychological tests.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>&bull; <a href=\"http:\/\/www.brainresource.com\/files\/Discovery%20Science%20Brain%20Body%20Function.pdf\"><font color=\"#200020\"><u><strong>Brain-Body Functions<\/strong><\/u> [PDF 104kb]:<\/font><\/a>    <\/p>\n<div align=\"justify\">   &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.brainresource.com\/files\/DS%20Key%20test%20Platforms%20LabNeuro.pdf\"><u><strong><font color=\"#400040\">LabNeuro<\/font><\/strong><\/u> [PDF 259kb]:<\/a> lab-based assessment including psychophysiology [EEG, ERPs, autonomic measures and neuropsychological test batteries].<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>&bull; <a href=\"http:\/\/www.brainresource.com\/files\/Discovery%20Science%20MRI,%20fMRI,%20DTI.pdf\"><font color=\"#200020\"><u><strong>MRI, fMRI and DTI<\/strong><\/u> [PDF 102kb]:<\/font><\/a>    <\/p>\n<div align=\"justify\">   &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<font color=\"#400040\"><strong>MRI-Neuro:<\/strong><\/font> structural and functional MRI<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>&bull; <a href=\"http:\/\/www.brainresource.com\/files\/Discovery%20Science%20Genetics.pdf\"><font color=\"#200020\"><u><strong>Genetics<\/strong><\/u> [PDF 118kb]:<\/font><\/a>       <\/p>\n<div align=\"justify\">   &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<font color=\"#400040\"><strong>Molecular-Neuro:<\/strong><\/font> collection via cheek  swab or saliva method [and in some cases bloods] of DNA for extraction  of SNPs and other variants of interest.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/ol>\n<div align=\"justify\"><strong><font color=\"#660033\">BRAINnet<\/font><\/strong> is an independent foundation set up to provide free  access to data in the  International Database that <strong><font color=\"#660033\">Brain  Resource<\/font><\/strong> has permission to share for the purposes of collaborative  research. As a member of <strong><font color=\"#660033\"><\/font><font color=\"#660033\">BRAINnet<\/font><\/strong><font color=\"#660033\"><\/font><font color=\"#660033\"><\/font><font color=\"#660033\"><\/font><font color=\"#660033\"><\/font><font color=\"#660033\"><\/font><font color=\"#660033\">, an independent researcher may apply  for access to normative data. It is comparable data because it has been  collected and scored in exactly the same way as your own Discovery  project.<\/font><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/ul>\n<hr size=\"1\" \/>\n<p align=\"justify\"><em><strong><font color=\"#200020\">Yet another note from the ghost in the machine<\/font><\/strong>: It&#8217;s me again. In-so-far as I am capable, this summary of Brain Resource is accurate. I told you it was going to pick up steam. I&#8217;ve changed some of the graphics to fit your screen [like they do in the movies] and I&#8217;ve condensed some of their descriptions. If any meanings got changed in the process, I apologize. That was not my intent. So now I&#8217;m going to stop being a ghost and come back as my regular old self&#8230;<br \/><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In my last post, I tried to synopsize the first two of Brain Resource&#8216;s products &#8211; brain training and clinician support tools built from web-based instruments. Now its time to move up several notches to their third product[s] which they gather under the heading research solutions. In this instance, we&#8217;ll have to move beyond the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7737","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/1boringoldman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7737","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/1boringoldman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/1boringoldman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1boringoldman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1boringoldman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7737"}],"version-history":[{"count":74,"href":"https:\/\/1boringoldman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7737\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40098,"href":"https:\/\/1boringoldman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7737\/revisions\/40098"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/1boringoldman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7737"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1boringoldman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7737"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1boringoldman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7737"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}