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Drug delivery to the brain is the process of passing therapeutically active molecules across the blood–brain barrier into the brain.This is a complex process that must take into account the complex anatomy of the brain as well as the restrictions imposed by the special junctions of the blood–brain barrier.
Several current methods for drug delivery to the brain include the use of liposomes, prodrugs, and carrier-mediated transporters. Many different delivery methods exist to transport these drugs into the body, such as peroral, intranasal, intravenous, and intracranial. For nanoparticles, most studies have shown increasing progression with ...
Routes can also be classified based on where the target of action is. Action may be topical (local), enteral (system-wide effect, but delivered through the gastrointestinal tract), or parenteral (systemic action, but is delivered by routes other than the GI tract). Route of administration and dosage form are aspects of drug delivery.
The route of administration is sometimes simply referred to as "intrathecal"; however, the term is also an adjective that refers to something occurring in or introduced into the anatomic space or potential space inside a sheath, most commonly the arachnoid membrane of the brain or spinal cord [1] (under which is the subarachnoid space).
The blood brain barrier (BBB) has historically proved to be a very difficult obstacle to overcome when aiming to deliver a drug to the brain. In order to overcome the difficulties in delivering therapeutic levels of drug past the BBB, drugs had to either be lipophilic molecules with a molecular weight below 600 Da or be transported across the BBB using some sort of cellular transport system. [4]
For drug delivery systems to bypass the blood brain barrier, modifications of physiochemical properties can enhance safety and efficacy. Size, surface charge, and lipophilicity play a major role in substance bypassing the blood brain barrier. Smaller, positively charged, or more lipophilic molecules enhance efficacy of nose-to-brain delivery.
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Ultrasound imaging deposits energy over a large area while therapeutic ultrasound focuses the energy on one target site. Focused ultrasound for intracrainial drug delivery is a non-invasive technique that uses high-frequency sound waves (focused ultrasound, or FUS) to disrupt tight junctions in the blood–brain barrier (BBB), allowing for increased passage of therapeutics into the brain.