Scientists Have Used Ultrasound To Breach Human Blood-Brain Barrier - Before anything else, the blood-brain barrier is a filtering
mechanism inside our body specifically in the capillaries. It
carries blood to the brain and spinal cord tissue, and doctors call it a
barrier because it blocks the passage of certain substances including
toxins and other chemicals.
And now for the new history in the medicine field.
A team of scientists from the Canada-based Sunnybrook Health Sciences
Centre made history this week after successfully “breaching” the human
brain’s protective layer, the blood-brain barrier, to deliver cancer
drugs. They’ve used focused ultrasound to invasively breach a patient’s
blood-brain barrier, and deliver chemotherapy into brain tumor.
The Sunnybrook team have injected tiny gas-filled bubbles into the
bloodstream of the brain tumor patient to temporarily create holes in
the blood-brain barrier. And then, they’ve used focused low-intensity
ultrasound waves to repeatedly compress and expand the tiny bubbles,
allowing them to vibrate and loosen tight junctions of the cells of the
blood-brain barrier of the patient. After they’ve opened the blood-brain
barrier, the chemotherapy flowed into the other side of the barrier,
and into the targeted tumors.
Several hours after successfully breaching the blood-brain barrier of
the patient, the tumor and some tissues surrounding it were surgically
removed and were brought to a lab to measure differences in the
concentration of chemotherapy that the procedure delivered, and the area
that didn’t receive the treatment.
The patient’s name is Bonny Hall. And for eight years, she managed
her tumor with medication. Earlier this year, doctors said the cancer
was growing, so they’ve suggested that she needed more aggressive
therapies.
And then her doctors asked her if is she’s willing to become the first patient to receive such treatment.
Dr. Todd Mainprize, the principal investigator of the study said
that the human blood-brain barrier has been a persistent obstacle to
delivering therapies and drugs to treat diseases, including brain tumor.
After the successful operation, 10 more patients may undergo the same
procedure. The research team said these patients are already scheduled
for traditional neurosurgery to remove parts of their brain tumors.
Dr. Mainprize said the technique used by their team will open up new
opportunities, allowing doctors to deliver potent drugs to targeted
areas.
The technology used by the team was developed by Sunnybrook Research
Institute Director of Physical Sciences, Dr. Kullervo Hynynen alongside
industry partner Insightec. They’ve tested the procedure for almost two
decades before testing it to a patient.
Dr. Hynynen hopes many patients will benefit from the technology.
Researchers say the procedure opens up the potential for delivering
drug therapies to parts of the human brain protected by the blood-brain
barrier - and treat other brain disorders including Alzheimer’s disease
and some psychiatric conditions.
The Sunnybrook team clarified that research participants will not
benefit from this procedure, and they still need to undergo surgery to
remove much of their brain tumor the next day - so any tumor that didn’t
receive chemotherapy after the procedure will also be removed. The main
aim of the clinical trial is testing feasibility, safety and proof of
concept. Source: StGist
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