Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre began trials analyzing researchers' experiments in opening the blood brain
barrier to deliver therapeutic drugs
To open the BBB, scientists injected micro bubbles into the bloodstream through a patient’s arm IV. Smaller than red blood cells these bubbles are able to enter the circulatory system without risk of hurting the patient. Once the bubbles reach the brain, scientists use an MRI-guided low-intensity ultrasound to concentrate and target where the BBB is to be opened. The energy from the ultrasound causes the bubbles to vibrate, loosening the surrounding cells and creates a small opening. Drug therapies have not yet been administered; instead, a non-toxic colored dye has been used by the scientists to track the substance’s movement through brain pathways.
