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Ultrasound and bubbles help medicines reach the brain

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DIG DEEPER at Norwegian SciTech News:
https://norwegianscitechnews.com/2022/08/ultrasound-and-bubbles-help-medicines-reach-the-brain/

Combining ultrasound and bubbles helps medicines pass through the protective blood-brain barrier and is giving hope for improved treatment of several diseases.

Luckily, our brain has a filter that protects it and the rest of our central nervous system from foreign elements like pathogens that can damage the tissue.

We call this filter the blood-brain barrier. It consists of proteins that bind the cells in the blood vessel wall, forming an effective physical barrier that is normally absolutely vital.

The filter usually stops 100 per cent of the large molecules and 98 per cent of the small ones found in the bloodstream.

However, this filter can also present problems when we treat diseases: medication is unable to penetrate the barrier.

“The blood-brain barrier prevents effective treatment of many brain diseases,” says Catharina de Lange Davies, a professor at NTNU’s Department of Physics.

Of the 7 000 drugs consisting of small molecules, only 5 per cent are designed for the central nervous system. Few of them are particularly effective. This is largely due to the blood-brain barrier.

For example, the filter can stop the cytotoxic drugs needed by people with brain tumours, as well as drugs for diseases like Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s.

DIG DEEPER at Norwegian SciTech News:
https://norwegianscitechnews.com/2022/08/ultrasound-and-bubbles-help-medicines-reach-the-brain/
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