Vibrating the Brain to Let the Medicine In

Nov-05-14 A new technique of penetrating the blood-brain barrier could make it easier to treat cancer and Alzheimer's by shaking up the brain's defensive layer.

While the blood-brain barrier protects the brain from toxins in the blood, it also prevents the passage of drugs. To allow necessary medications to enter the brain, a team from CarThera has developed an ultrasound technique that works in conjunction with microbubbles injected into the blood. The ultrasound device, called the SonaCloud, is implanted in the patient's skull. When activated, the device projects ultrasound waves into the brain and causes the mircobubbles to vibrate. The vibrating bubbles then push apart the cells of the blood-brain barrier to create perforations that allow the medication to slip through.

The technique could also be used to help treat Alzheimer's. In animal models, simply opening the barrier reduced the protein plaques that are linked to Alzheimer's—which the team believes may be due to the body's own immune cells being able to slip through the barrier and attack the plaque.

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[MEDGADGET.COM]
[CATHERA.EU]

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