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The Blood Brain Barrier Has Been Broken. - Science/Technology - Nairaland

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The Blood Brain Barrier Has Been Broken. by ValentineMary(m): 9:10am On Dec 13, 2015
For the first time ever, scientists have succeeded
in non-invasively breaking through the blood-
brain barrier that protects the brain, managing
to deliver chemotherapy medication directly into
the malignant brain tumour of a patient. While
the blood-brain barrier is designed to protect our
brains – lining the brain’s blood vessels to
prevent toxic substances in the bloodstream
from getting through – it’s also served as
somewhat of a brick wall for modern medicine.
In this instance, however, scientists were able to
non-invasively breach the blood-brain barrier,
using tightly focused ultrasound to effectively
part the brain’s protective curtain. The
advancement could lead to a host of new
treatments for illnesses and disorders centred in
the brain. “The blood-brain barrier has been a
persistent obstacle to delivering valuable
therapies to treat disease such as tumours,” said
Todd Mainprize , a neurosurgeon in the Hurvitz
Brain Sciences Program at Sunnybrook Health
Sciences Centre in Canada and principal
investigator of the study. ”We are encouraged
that we were able to temporarily open this
barrier in a patient to deliver chemotherapy
directly to the brain tumour.” In order to get
medication directly to the site of the patient’s
malignant brain tumour, the scientists needed a
way of getting past the blood-brain barrier. To
do so, they infused her bloodstream with a
chemotherapy drug and also with tiny,
microscopic bubbles, which are
smaller than red blood cells and can pass freely
through blood. Using MRI-guided low intensity
sound waves, the team targeted blood vessels in
the blood- brain barrier near the site of the
tumour and used ultrasound waves to vibrate
the microbubbles, which in turn loosened the
tight cell junctions that hold the blood-brain
barrier together. With the junctions loosened
sufficiently, the chemotherapy drug flowed past
the barrier and deposited within the targeted
tumour site.The literal breakthrough is the result
of close to two decades’ research by researchers
at Sunnybrook Research Institute and industry
partner Insightec, and could pave the way for
addressing all manner of brain diseases, and not
just cancer – but also Alzheimer’s disease,
Parkinson’s disease, psychiatric conditions and
more. “Some of the most exciting and novel
therapeutics for the treatment of malignant
brain tumours are not able to reach the tumour
cells because of the blood brain barrier,“ said
Mainprize . ”This technique will open up new
opportunities to deliver potentially much more
effective treatments to the targeted areas.” After
the ultrasound treatment succeeded in
breaching the blood-brain barrier, the tumour
was surgically removed, and the scientists are
using pathology to measure the differences
between the concentration of chemotherapy in
the regions targeted by sound waves and those
in areas where the blood-brain barrier was not
breached.
The answers they get from pathology will tell
them how just how effective breaking the barrier
is in terms of delivering medications – but in any
case it’s early days. Nine more participants with
tumours have been scheduled to take part in the
study and will receive the ultrasound treatment
prior to invasive surgery to remove their
tumours. If the results are as successful as the
first procedure appears to have been, we could
be witnessing a revolution of sorts in how to get
much-needed drugs directly to where they can
benefit the brain. “Breaching this barrier opens
up a new frontier in treating brain disorders,”
said Neal Kassell , chairman of the Focused
Ultrasound Foundation, which funded the
research. “We are encouraged by the momentum
building for the use of focused ultrasound to non-
invasively deliver therapies for a number of
brain disorders.”
Re: The Blood Brain Barrier Has Been Broken. by Onyenna(m): 9:50am On Dec 13, 2015
great leap indeed....... soon, some nairalanders with ISI NKOPU will get serious help.......

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