WASHINGTON (Dispatches) --- Scientists have developed a noninvasive method that requires no incisions to remove faulty brain circuits and that it could allow doctors to treat debilitating neurological diseases without the need for conventional brain surgery.
University of Virginia School of Medicine (UVA) team together with colleagues at Stanford University believe that if this approach is successfully translated to the operating room, it could revolutionize the treatment of some of the most challenging and complex neurological diseases, including epilepsy, movement disorders and more.
The new approach , called PING, uses low-intensity focused ultrasound waves combined with microbubbles to briefly penetrate the brain’s natural defenses and allow the targeted delivery of a neurotoxin. This neurotoxin kills the culprit brain cells while sparing other healthy cells and preserving the surrounding brain architecture.
The PING has already shown exciting potential in laboratory studies. One of the promising applications for PING could be for the surgical treatment of epilepsies that do not respond to medication.