Applications of focused ultrasound-mediated blood-brain barrier opening

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 neuromod-ulation 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 tremen-dous potential of FUS to fundamentally change the paradigm of treatment for CNS diseases. (c) 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

The disruption of the blood brain barrier is crucial for treating brain pathologies. Recent developments in focused ultrasound and gas-filled microbubble contrast agents have allowed for targeted and non-invasive opening of the blood brain barrier, enabling localized delivery of therapeutic agents. Furthermore, focused ultrasound has the potential to modulate neural activity and stimulate physiological responses, offering non-surgical approaches to treating central nervous system diseases.