Open AccessTherapeutic Potentials of Localized Blood–Brain Barrier Disruption by Noninvasive Transcranial Focused Ultrasound: A Technical Review
Author(s) -
Amanda Cammalleri,
Phillip Croce,
Wonhye Lee,
Kyungho Yoon,
SeungSchik Yoo
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of clinical neurophysiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.657
H-Index - 99
eISSN - 1537-1603
pISSN - 0736-0258
DOI - 10.1097/wnp.0000000000000488
Subject(s) - neuroscience , blood–brain barrier , medicine , brain function , focused ultrasound , therapeutic ultrasound , ultrasound , central nervous system , psychology , radiology
The demands for region-specific, noninvasive therapies for neurologic/psychiatric conditions are growing. The rise of transcranial focused ultrasound technology has witnessed temporary and reversible disruptions of the blood-brain barrier in the brain with exceptional control over the spatial precisions and depth, all in a noninvasive manner. Starting with small animal studies about a decade ago, the technique is now being explored in nonhuman primates and humans for the assessment of its efficacy and safety. The ability to transfer exogenous/endogenous therapeutic agents, cells, and biomolecules across the blood-brain barrier opens up new therapeutic avenues for various neurologic conditions, with a possibility to modulate the excitability of regional brain function. This review addresses the technical fundamentals, sonication parameters, experimental protocols, and monitoring techniques to examine the efficacy/safety in focused ultrasound-mediated blood-brain barrier disruption and discuss its potential translations to clinical use.