Thema: Presse: Schallwellen öffnen "Blut-Hirn-Schranke"
Presse: Schallwellen öffnen "Blut-Hirn-Schranke"
Marion[a]
06.08.2002 13:07:15
Using Sound Waves to Deliver Drugs to the Brain
Right now, patients who are diagnosed with serious brain diseases often have to undergo surgery, since many drugs cannot pass the blood-brain barrier. BBC News reported that scientists from Brigham and Women´s Hospital have discovered a way to avoid brain surgery by using sound waves to deliver drugs to the delicate tissues of the brain.
Dr. Ferenc Jolesz and others have developed a method to open this barrier temporarily to allow the entry of drugs and gene therapy to different specific brain areas. In testing on rabbits, the team has injected tiny protein bubbles that now are used to help ultrasound imaging of blood vessels into the bloodstream. The researchers found that they could temporarily open the blood-brain barrier by bursting these bubbles in specific areas using an ultrasound beam. This action sent a shockwave to the blood-brain barrier, allowing large particles to enter the brain.
The scientists hope that the technique some day could help in the delivery of drugs and genes to the brain, which could help in ablating tumors or in restoring damaged brain cells.
Right now, patients who are diagnosed with serious brain diseases often have to undergo surgery, since many drugs cannot pass the blood-brain barrier. BBC News reported that scientists from Brigham and Women´s Hospital have discovered a way to avoid brain surgery by using sound waves to deliver drugs to the delicate tissues of the brain.
Dr. Ferenc Jolesz and others have developed a method to open this barrier temporarily to allow the entry of drugs and gene therapy to different specific brain areas. In testing on rabbits, the team has injected tiny protein bubbles that now are used to help ultrasound imaging of blood vessels into the bloodstream. The researchers found that they could temporarily open the blood-brain barrier by bursting these bubbles in specific areas using an ultrasound beam. This action sent a shockwave to the blood-brain barrier, allowing large particles to enter the brain.
The scientists hope that the technique some day could help in the delivery of drugs and genes to the brain, which could help in ablating tumors or in restoring damaged brain cells.
Marion[a]
