Focused ultrasound and Alzheimer’s disease A systematic review

Abstract

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) affects millions of people, however, there is still no effective treatment. The use of focused ultrasound with microbubbles (FUS-MB) for the opening of the blood-brain barrier has been recently studied and may become a promising therapeutic target.Objective:To discuss the use of FUS-MB for the treatment of AD and to present some of the techniques used.Methods:A systematic review was performed of MEDLINE/PubMed and Biblioteca Virtual em Saúde (BVS) services, using the keywords: focused ultrasound, Alzheimer, amyloid-b. Original articles were included in the study; studies that did not focus on Alzheimer’s treatment were excluded.Results:Fifteen original studies were selected. Preclinical trials were able to reduce amyloid-b plaques and tau phosphorylation, improving cognitive performance in AD animals.Conclusion:The results are very promising, but the therapy still requires maturation. Further studies are needed to systematize all the techniques used and their effects in order to enable use in humans.

Amyloid Oligomers: A Joint Experimental/Computational Perspective on Alzheimer’s Disease, Parkinson’s Disease, Type II Diabetes, and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

“…By in vivo studies, most works use focused ultrasound to open temporarily the blood–brain-barrier and thus facilitate the transport of molecules from the blood to the brain . However, several studies using ultrasound alone also show positive results.…”

“…By in vivo studies, most works use focused ultrasound to open temporarily the blood−brain-barrier and thus facilitate the transport of molecules from the blood to the brain. 1031 However, several studies using ultrasound alone also show positive results. Jordao et al demonstrate that transcranial focused ultrasound (frequency of 0.5 MHz, pressure of 0.3 MPa) application leads to a significant reduction (20%) in mean plaque size 4 days after a single treatment in the TgCRND8 mouse model of AD.…”

Focused ultrasound opening of the blood–brain barrier for treatment of Parkinson's disease

“…Developing this approach for improved symptomatic control and disease modification will benefit from ongoing clinical trial experience in the realm of neuro‐oncologic applications and other planned uses for FUS. One example of the current interest in using FUS in another field of disease modification is an ongoing phase 1 research project in Alzheimer's disease that is testing whether beta‐amyloid deposits can be removed …”

“…One example of the current interest in using FUS in another field of disease modification is an ongoing phase 1 research project in Alzheimer's disease that is testing whether beta-amyloid deposits can be removed. 33,34…”

Magnetic Resonance Methods for Focused Ultrasound-Induced Blood-Brain Barrier Opening

“…Particles of interest exploit these gaps to can cross from the bloodstream to the brain [8,9] (Figure 1B). LIFUS-mediated BBB disruption has been widely demonstrated in animal models [7,[10][11][12][13][14], and it has been tested in clinical settings for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Disease [15][16][17]. The same kind of approach has also been demonstrated, capable of disrupting the blood-tumor FIGURE 1 | FUS-induced BBB opening concepts: (A) Ultrasound pressure waves are converged in a millimeter-sized FS thanks to a transducer coupled to the head via a balloon filled with water.…”