Abstract
The blood brain barrier (BBB) plays a critically important role in the regulation of central nervous system (CNS) homeostasis, but also represents a major limitation to treatments of brain pathologies. In recent years, focused ultrasound (FUS) in conjunction with gas-filled microbubble contrast agents has emerged as a powerful tool for transiently and non-invasively disrupting the BBB in a targeted and image-guided manner, allowing for localized delivery of drugs, genes, or other therapeutic agents. Beyond the delivery of known therapeutics, FUS-mediated BBB opening also demonstrates the potential for use in neuromodulation and the stimulation of a range of cell- and tissue-level physiological responses that may prove beneficial in disease contexts. Clinical trials investigating the safety and efficacy of FUS-mediated BBB opening are well underway, and offer promising non-surgical approaches to treatment of devastating pathologies. This article reviews a range of pre-clinical and clinical studies demonstrating the tremendous potential of FUS to fundamentally change the paradigm of treatment for CNS diseases.
Original language | English |
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Article number | 114583 |
Number of pages | 20 |
Journal | Advanced Drug Delivery Reviews |
Volume | 191 |
Early online date | 19 Oct 2022 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Dec 2022 |
Bibliographical note
Copyright © 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.Keywords
- Humans
- Blood-Brain Barrier
- Microbubbles
- Biological Transport
- Contrast Media
- Drug Delivery Systems
- Magnetic Resonance Imaging