Ultrasound enables gene delivery throughout the brain

 Originally published by Rice University on September 27, 2023


Credit: CC0 Public Domain

Rice University researchers tested the safety and feasibility of gene delivery to multiple brain regions using a noninvasive, ultrasound-based technique in rodents, and their findings suggest that the efficiency of gene delivery improves within each targeted site when more sites are opened.

Shirin Nouraein, a doctoral student working in the lab of Rice bioengineer Jerzy Szablowski, is the lead author on the study recently published in the journal Gene Therapy.

The paper, "Acoustically Targeted Noninvasive Gene Therapy in Large Brain Volumes," continues the Szablowski lab's work using focused ultrasound energy to safely make the blood-brain barrier permeable. The technique is known as focused ultrasound blood-brain barrier opening (FUS-BBBO).

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