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August 10th, 2010
Delivering More Drugs to Brain Tumors
Abstract:
The brain and its adjacent blood vessels are separated by a protective barrier--it keeps viruses and other infections out but also limits entry of most medications, making tumors and other diseases of the brain particularly difficult to treat. But researchers in Taiwan have found a way to transport more anticancer therapeutics to the brain than previously possible through a novel combination of ultrasound and magnetic particles.
The new research shows how independently successful approaches can work in concert to be markedly more effective. Focused ultrasound waves, along with a solution of microbubbles injected into the bloodstream, had already been proven to briefly disturb the blood-brain barrier. Now, Kuo-Chen Wei, of Chang Gung University College of Medicine, has combined the ultrasound method with a technique that uses a magnetic field to attract drug-coated, magnetically charged nanoparticles to the precise spot where they're most needed. The disrupted blood-brain barrier allows far more of these larger nanoparticles to enter the brain, and the magnetic field guides them directly to the tumors.
Source:
technologyreview.com
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