Credit: Maria Eleni Karakatsani/Columbia Engineering
Upregulation of the dopaminergic pathway following focused ultrasound-facilitated drug delivery
The dopaminergic pathway can be downregulated similar to Parkinson’s disease in toxin-based mouse models. Application of focused ultrasound results in increased blood-brain barrier permeability allowing the diffusion of pharmacological agents in the brain. Depending on the number of administrations and the delivery vehicle, the deliverable compounds can have beneficial effects of varying degree.