Biological effects of blood–brain barrier disruption using a focused ultrasound

ABSTRACT

With focused ultrasound (FUS) and microbubbles, BBB can be transiently disrupted with a localized and non-invasive approach. BBB disruption induced by FUS has made progressions to move forward on delivery of therapeutic agents into a brain in a specific area of brain for better treatment of neurological diseases. In addition to be used as an improvement of drug delivery, BBB disruption has been found to induce biological effects such as a clearance of protein aggregation which cause Alzheimer's disease, regulation of proteins which facilitate drug uptake, and modulation of neuronal function and neurogenesis. In this review, we discuss overview about the principles of BBB opening with FUS and milestones in these biological effects of FUS-induced BBB disruption.