Focused ultrasound opening brain to previously impossible treatments

University of Virginia researchers are pioneering the use of focused ultrasound to defy the brain's protective barrier so that doctors could, at last, deliver many treatments directly into the brain to battle neurological diseases. The approach, the researchers hope, could revolutionize treatment for conditions from Alzheimer's to epilepsy to brain tumors -- and even help repair the devastating damage caused by stroke.

Richard J. Price, PhD, of UVA's School of Medicine and School of Engineering, is using focused soundwaves to overcome the natural "blood-brain barrier," which protects the brain from harmful pathogens. His approach aims to breach the barrier only where needed, and only when needed, and then deliver treatments in exquisitely precise fashion.

"The blood-brain barrier is one of the greatest, if not the greatest, challenge to drug delivery for the central nervous system," Price explained. "Evolution gave us this barrier because the central nervous system needs to be protected. The problem is now we want to deliver something to those cells and evolution has had millions and millions of years to optimize a solution to stop it. ... So I'm attempting to circumvent biology with physics."

You may find the whole news here