MR-guided focused ultrasound enhances delivery of trastuzumab to Her2-positive brain metastases.

The blood-brain barrier (BBB) is an important factor limiting the effectiveness of central nervous system (CNS) therapeutics. MR-guided focused ultrasound (MRgFUS) is a noninvasive, spatially precise technology that enhances drug delivery across a temporarily permeable BBB. However, despite promising preclinical data, successful drug delivery has yet to be proven in human patients.

Dysgeusia induced and resolved by focused ultrasound thalamotomy: case report.

Dysgeusia, or distorted taste, has recently been acknowledged as a complication of thalamic ablation or thalamic deep brain stimulation as a treatment of tremor. In a unique patient, left-sided MR-guided focused ultrasound thalamotomy improved right-sided essential tremor but also induced severe dysgeusia. Although dysgeusia persisted and caused substantial weight loss, tremor slowly relapsed.

MR-guided focused ultrasound liquid biopsy enriches circulating biomarkers in patients with brain tumors.

Background: Liquid biopsy is promising for early detection, monitoring of response, and recurrence of cancer. The blood-brain barrier (BBB) limits the shedding of biomarker, such as cell-free DNA (cfDNA), into the blood from brain tumors, and their detection by conventional assays. Transcranial MR-guided focused ultrasound (MRgFUS) can safely and transiently open the BBB, providing an opportunity for less-invasive access to brain pathology.

First-in-human trial of blood-brain barrier opening in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis using MR-guided focused ultrasound.

MR-guided focused ultrasound (MRgFUS) is an emerging technology that can accurately and transiently permeabilize the blood-brain barrier (BBB) for targeted drug delivery to the central nervous system. We conducted a single-arm, first-in-human trial to investigate the safety and feasibility of MRgFUS-induced BBB opening in eloquent primary motor cortex in four volunteers with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Here, we show successful BBB opening using MRgFUS as demonstrated by gadolinium leakage at the target site immediately after sonication in all subjects, which normalized 24 hours later.

Focused ultrasound thalamotomy location determines clinical benefits in patients with essential tremor.

Magnetic resonance guided focused ultrasound (MRgFUS) thalamotomy is a novel and minimally invasive ablative treatment for essential tremor. The size and location of therapeutic lesions producing the optimal clinical benefits while minimizing adverse effects are not known. We examined these relationships in patients with essential tremor undergoing MRgFUS.

Magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound thalamotomy for treatment of essential tremor: A 2-year outcome study.

Background: Magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound is an emerging, minimally invasive thermoablation technique for medically refractory essential tremor. Beyond the initial year, data regarding efficacy and potential predictors of efficacy are still preliminary.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to assess the outcome at 2 years and the association between lesion volume and outcome 1 year after treatment.

MRI-guided focused ultrasound thalamotomy in non-ET tremor syndromes.

Objective: To report the 6-month single-blinded results of unilateral thalamotomy with MRI-guided focused ultrasound (MRgFUS) in patients with tremors other than essential tremor.

Methods: Three patients with tremor due to Parkinson disease, 2 with dystonic tremor in the context of cervicobrachial dystonia and writer's cramp, and 1 with dystonia gene-associated tremor underwent MRgFUS targeting the ventro-intermedius nucleus (Vim) of the dominant hemisphere. The primary endpoint was the reduction of lateralized items of the Tremor Rating Scale of contralateral hemibody assessed by a blinded rater.

Deconstructing early life experiences: distinguishing the contributions of prenatal and postnatal factors to adult male sexual behavior in the rat.

In rodents, a pup's experiences in utero and during postnatal development shape its sexual behavior as an adult and how it is perceived by potential mates. We show that the male rat's sexuality is primarily influenced by the postnatal sex ratio of its litter, but not by the litter's prenatal intrauterine sex ratio or the behavior of its mother. Pups from litters with differing prenatal sex ratios were divided into litters with differing postnatal sex ratios.