title: Focused ultrasound for blood-brain disruption and delivery of therapeutic molecules into the brain.
abstract: Noninvasive, transient and local image-guided blood-brain barrier disruption can be accomplished using focused ultrasound exposure with intravascular injection of preformed microbubbles. MRI-guided blood-brain barrier disruption has been demonstrated and has been shown to heal in within a few hours after exposure. The delivery of several marker molecules has been demonstrated in different animal models with minimal or no damage to the brain tissue. Most notably, the delivery of antibodies and liposomal doxorubicin has been shown. The method may potentially open a new era in CNS drug delivery and perhaps also aid in molecular imaging and targeting. However, effective clinical devices and methods need to be developed further and the clinical feasibility demonstrated.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Biophysics, University of Toronto, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, 2075 Bayview Ave, Toronto, ON, M4N 3M5, Canada. khynynen@sri.utoronto.ca
authors.forename: Kullervo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hynynen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001812:Blood-Brain Barrier / Q000473:pathology*; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology; D003287:Contrast Media / Q000008:administration & dosage; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D045423:Microbubbles; D013010:Sonication; D014465:Ultrasonics
chemical_list: D003287:Contrast Media