Master of the Mind; Sealand | 60 Minutes Full Episodes

Ultrasound Treatment for Brain Disorders

• Dr. Ali R. is a pioneering neuroscientist who is researching treatments for Alzheimer's disease and addiction.
• Dr. R. is using ultrasound to attempt to delay the progression of Alzheimer's disease.
• Ultrasound is a non-invasive method that can be used to open the blood-brain barrier, allowing drugs to reach the brain more effectively.
• The blood-brain barrier is a protective layer that prevents toxins from entering the brain, but it also makes it difficult for medications to reach the brain.
• Dr. R. believes that ultrasound can help to overcome this barrier and allow drugs to reach the brain more effectively.
• Dr. R. is working with a team of doctors to test this new approach to treating Alzheimer's disease.
• The team is targeting areas of the brain that are affected by Alzheimer's disease.
• The team is using ultrasound to open the blood-brain barrier in these areas, allowing drugs to reach the brain more effectively.
• The team is carefully monitoring the patients to ensure that the treatment is safe and effective.
• The team is hopeful that this new approach to treating Alzheimer's disease will be successful.
• Dr. Rai, a brain surgeon, has been working on using ultrasound to treat brain disorders.
• Dr. Rai was among the first to implant a pacemaker-type device in the brain to treat Parkinson's disease.
• Dr. Rai's team used focused ultrasound to treat tremors in a patient named Dan Wall.
• The ultrasound treatment destroyed a small area of tissue in the thalamus, which was believed to be responsible for the tremors.
• Dr. Rai believes that focused ultrasound can be used to treat other brain disorders, including Alzheimer's disease.
• Dr. Oli Rai has received FDA approval to use ultrasound to try and restore brain cell function lost to Alzheimer's.
• Dr. Rai is also conducting a study to investigate whether ultrasound can reverse brain damage caused by Alzheimer's.
• Dr. Rai is also exploring the use of ultrasound to treat drug addiction.

Focused Ultrasound Treatment for Alzheimer's Disease

• Dan Miller, a 61-year-old man with Alzheimer's disease, participated in a trial using focused ultrasound to slow the progression of the disease.
• Miller was given an IV treatment of aducanumab, a drug that reduces beta-amyloid plaque, before the procedure.
• Miller was then fitted with a helmet that directed ultrasound energy to a specific target in his brain.
• The ultrasound energy caused microscopic bubbles in an IV solution to vibrate and open the blood-brain barrier, allowing therapeutics to enter the brain.
• The blood-brain barrier remained open for 24 to 48 hours, giving therapeutics a chance to reach the brain.
• A new treatment for Alzheimer's disease using focused ultrasound was tested on three patients.
• The ultrasound waves were used to open the blood-brain barrier, allowing a drug to reach and reduce beta-amyloid plaques in the brain.
• The treatment resulted in a 50% reduction in beta-amyloid plaques in the areas targeted by ultrasound compared to areas treated with infusion alone.
• The patients were given the treatment once a month for six months.
• The patients reported no changes in their ability to perform daily activities after the treatment ended.
• Two of the three patients who received the limited Alzheimer's treatment have experienced some decline since the initial report in January.

Focused Ultrasound Treatment for Drug Addiction

• Dr. Rai, a neurosurgeon, has been working on a new treatment for drug addiction using focused ultrasound.
• The treatment targets the reward center of the brain, the nucleus accumbens, which is responsible for cravings and anxiety.
• Focused ultrasound beams are directed to this area of the brain, causing a change in electrical and chemical activity, effectively resetting the brain and reducing cravings and anxiety.
• The treatment is not a cure but an augmentation of therapy, allowing patients to better engage with their therapists.
• Dr. Rai's team treated Dave Martin, a patient who had been using drugs since the age of 7.
• During the procedure, Martin was shown images of drug use to stimulate his cravings.
• After the focused ultrasound treatment, Martin reported a significant reduction in cravings and anxiety.
• Martin stated that he did not experience the same urge to use drugs after the treatment.
• The entire procedure takes approximately one hour.
• Martin reported that he was able to resist the urge to use drugs even when around people who were using.

Brain Surgery for Drug Addiction

• Buck Halter, a former addict, struggled with addiction for over 15 years, experiencing multiple overdoses and relapses.
• Dr. Oli Rosai, a neurosurgeon, developed a new brain surgery to treat severe addiction, inspired by technology used for Parkinson's disease treatment.
• Dr. Rosai believed that addiction is a brain disease caused by electrical and chemical abnormalities in the brain's reward center.
• The surgery involved implanting a device with electrodes into the brain's reward center to regulate cravings and anxiety.
• Buck Halter became the first patient in the US to receive this brain implant, undergoing a 7-hour surgery where he was awake to allow for precise mapping of the brain.
• The implant sends electrical pulses to the brain, aiming to suppress cravings.
• The device can be adjusted remotely using a tablet computer.
• Buck Halter reported an immediate change after the implant was activated.
• Dr. Oi Rosai is conducting ultrasound therapy on addiction patients.
• The therapy has been approved by the FDA.
• Dr. Rosai is also researching the use of ultrasound therapy for obesity.

Sealand: A Self-Proclaimed Micronation

• Sealand is a micro-nation located in the North Sea, seven miles off the coast of England.
• Sealand declared its independence in 1967.
• The current monarch of Sealand is Prince Michael Bates.
• Sealand has a population of one and a land mass the size of two tennis courts.
• Sealand was originally a World War II fort called His Majesty's Rough's Tower.
• The fort was used to prevent German bombing raids on London.
• Sealand was later used by a pirate radio station called Radio Essex.
• Radio Essex was one of many pirate radio stations operating in the North Sea in the 1960s.
• The pirate radio stations were popular with young people in Britain who wanted to hear more rock music.
• Roy Bates, Prince Michael's father, took over the fort and started Radio Essex.
• Radio Essex was the first 24-hour radio station in Britain.
• Roy Bates, the founder of Sealand, was forced to shut down his pirate radio station due to a new British law.
• Instead of surrendering, Bates seized another fort, Ruff's Tower, which was outside UK territorial waters.
• On September 2nd, 1967, Bates declared Sealand an independent state and himself its Prince.
• The Bates family, including Roy, his wife Joan, and their children Michael and Penny, established their home on Sealand.
• The family had ambitions to turn Sealand into a tax haven, luxury island, and casino.
• Michael and Penny spent months on Sealand, defending it from rivals and buccaneers.
• The British government viewed Sealand as a nuisance and even considered taking it by force.
• In 1978, a group of German and Dutch lawyers and diamond merchants launched a coup on Sealand, taking Prince Michael hostage.
• Michael was released after three days, and his father and a group of supporters staged a successful counter-coup.
• One of the plotters, Alexander Achenbach, was imprisoned and fined for treason.
• A German diplomat visited Sealand to negotiate Achenbach's release, which implied de facto recognition of Sealand as a state.
• Sealand met the four requirements for statehood: a government, a defined territory, a permanent population, and recognition by another state.
• The Bates family, who reside on Sealand, a self-proclaimed micronation, have taken on various ventures to maintain their independence.
• In the early 2000s, they partnered with internet entrepreneurs to establish Sealand as an offshore data haven, hosting websites like gambling and porn sites.
• They also considered hosting an organ transplant company, but ultimately rejected the proposal.
• Currently, the family generates revenue through the online sale of noble titles, allowing individuals to purchase titles like Lord, Lady, Duke, or Duchess for a fee.
• The family has also embraced the internet, with Prince James and Prince Liam running a business and Princess Penny operating a Botox clinic.
• Prince Michael, the current head of the family, married Mayi, a former artillery major in China's People's Liberation Army.
• The family is committed to maintaining Sealand's independence and is currently working on a digital citizenship program to fund the refurbishment of the platform into a tourist destination.