Targeted drug delivery in the brain via ultrasound-induced blood-brain barrier disruption

This study investigates the impact of focused ultrasound (FOS)-induced blood-brain barrier (BBB) disruption delivery of doxorubicin (DOX) on the survival of rats with aggressive glioma. Results show a modest but significant increase in median survival time in rats treated with combined FUS+DOX, while neither DOX nor FOS has any significant impact on survival on its own. Moreover, a post-treatment MRI reveals that rats which received the combined FUS+DOX treatment exhibit slower tumor growth compared to intravenous chemotherapy alone. Hence, the efficacy confirmation in an in vivo tumor model indicates that targeted drug delivery using MRI-guided focused ultrasound has the potential to have a major impact on the treatment of patients with brain tumors and other neurological disorders.