Real-time monitoring of human blood-brain barrier disruption.

Chemotherapy aided by opening of the blood-brain barrier with intra-arterial infusion of hyperosmolar mannitol improves the outcome in primary central nervous system lymphoma. Proper opening of the blood-brain barrier is crucial for the treatment, yet there are no means available for its real-time monitoring. The intact blood-brain barrier maintains a mV-level electrical potential difference between blood and brain tissue, giving rise to a measurable electrical signal at the scalp.

Promising treatment results with blood brain barrier disruption (BBBD) based immunochemotherapy combined with autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) in patients with primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL).

Primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL) is a rare brain tumour with a dismal prognosis. Several phase II studies with high-dose methotrexate-based regimens have shown promising early results, but in all hospital-based data published so far, the disease outcome has been poor. Patients with relapsed or refractory disease have a dismal prognosis.

[Chemotherapy in conjunction with blood brain barrier disruption in the treatment of primary central nervous system lymphoma].

Primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL) is sensitive to both chemotherapy and radiation, but the blood-brain barrier limits the usefulness of the most effective chemotherapeutic agents. On the other hand radiation therapy carries along serious long term adverse events. In BBBD-therapy the blood-brain barrier is opened with intra-arterial mannitol infusion thus permitting both the chemotherapeutics and antibodies to enter through blood-brain barrier.