Neurosurgery experts at the Neuroscience Institute sought a better way to delineate between healthy brain tissue and brain tumors. As part of that quest, SIU Medicine participated in a groundbreaking study to determine the safety and benefit of using 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA) during surgery.
When doctors remove a tumor from the brain, it is important that they remove as much of the tumor as possible and not remove parts of the healthy brain tissue. Sometimes this can be difficult because the tumor can look like healthy brain tissue. In some brain tumors, 5-ALA can make the tumors glow red under deep blue light (a "black light"). 5-ALA is a naturally occurring substance that is found in all living things, including humans, and is a necessary part of basic life functions.