Breaking Barriers: Focused Ultrasound for Alzheimer’s Treatment

Alzheimer’s disease is a debilitating neurodegenerative disease, characterized by dementia and loss of brain function due to the build-up of B-amyloid plaques and tau protein bundles. Currently available treatments for symptom management have low effectiveness, with scientists struggling to find a method to deliver drugs through the blood-brain barrier. However, new uses of technology known as Magnetic Resonance-guided Focused Ultrasound provide hope for Alzheimer’s treatment, breaking the blood-barrier to allow drugs to pass through into the affected regions of the brain. MRgFUS is currently in phase 2 clinical trials after having undergone multiple animal studies and some preliminary human trials. Though it has not been paired with therapeutics like antibodies just yet, the future of this treatment is promising, and will hopefully be able to permanently improve the lives of those suffering with Alzheimer’s disease.

This video was made by McMaster Students Hana Nazal, Sébastien Violette, Stephanie Wang in collaboration with the McMaster Demystifying Medicine Program.

Copyright McMaster University 2021

References:

Bellettato, C. M., & Scarpa, M. (2018). Possible strategies to cross the blood–brain barrier. Italian Journal of Pediatrics, 44(S2). doi:10.1186/s13052-018-0563-0

Bors, L., & Erdő, F. (2019). Overcoming the blood–brain barrier. Challenges and tricks for CNS drug delivery. Scientia Pharmaceutica, 87(1), 6. doi:10.3390/scipharm87010006

Dubey, S., Heinen, S., Krantic, S., Mclaurin, J., Branch, D. R., Hynynen, K., & Aubert, I. (2020). Clinically approved IVIg delivered to the hippocampus with focused ultrasound promotes neurogenesis in a model of Alzheimer’s disease. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 117(51), 32691-32700. doi:10.1073/pnas.1908658117

Frozza, R. L., Lourenco, M. V., & Felice, F. G. (2018). Challenges for Alzheimer’s disease therapy: Insights from novel mechanisms beyond memory defects. Frontiers in Neuroscience, 12. doi:10.3389/fnins.2018.00037

Poon, C. T., Shah, K., Lin, C., Tse, R., Kim, K. K., Mooney, S., . . . Hynynen, K. (2018). Time course of focused ultrasound effects on β-amyloid plaque pathology in the TgCRND8 mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease. Scientific Reports, 8(1). doi:10.1038/s41598-018-32250-3

Rezai, A. R., Ranjan, M., D’Haese, P., Haut, M. W., Carpenter, J., Najib, U., . . . Kaplitt, M. (2020). Noninvasive hippocampal blood−brain barrier opening in Alzheimer’s disease with focused ultrasound. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 117(17), 9180-9182. doi:10.1073/pnas.2002571117

[AlexM-gvpf]

Notice this amazing stuff gets no spotlight. But pharmaceuticals on the other hand?

[abenaa]

Pls where is the doctor who do this ultra sound I want to take my mother who is suffering from dementia.. thanks

[weldonyoung]

Why has it taken so long to conbine this ultrasound brain barrier opening method with therapeutics?

[Faizkhan-vnxb]

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[garlandnovosad]

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[Faizkhan-vnxb]

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[Faizkhan-vnxb]

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