Blood Brain Barrier - A New Way Through

[ViewsAskew]

it might be ages - if ever - before this could help us, but I was very happy to see this research.

http://www.iflscience.com/health-and-me ... n-barrier#

Sound Waves Break The Blood-Brain Barrier

The upshot - they used this for cancer. Very interesting and good results.

[Polar Bear]

All research is good, discoveries in one field generally go on to provide treatments in various conditions.

[badnights]

They used ultrasound emitters planted in the brain near a tumor, in combination with microbubbles injected into the blood, to temporarily open the bbb. Chemotherapy drugs could therefore reach the brian for about 6 hours after a 2-min ultrasound treatment.

I love this kind of creative thinking. But like you said, it's years from being of any benefit to us. We don't even have the equivalent of a chemotherapy drug, and we might also need to better pinpoint the location of the problem.

I thought the unexpected side benefit was interesting - a lowered number of plaques in Alzheimers mice, even though no drugs were given. Implying that the body can fight Alzheimer's if it can just get its stuff past the bbb. Cool.

[ViewsAskew]

I also thought the unexpected side effect was SOOO cool.

Well, while we don't have a chemo drug, we DO need to get blood cells in there. Not sure if there is some corollary. Like, could you give an infusion, then open it up? Would that increase ferritin in the brain?????

[badnights]

Interesting thought. I hadn't thought of that.