A collaborative research team led by Rich Price, PhD, at the University of Virginia and Justin Hanes, PhD, at Johns Hopkins University has published new, and somewhat unexpected, results from their preclinical nanoparticle gene delivery work.
The approach, the researchers hope, could revolutionize treatment for conditions from Alzheimer’s to epilepsy to brain tumors – and even help repair the devastating damage caused by stroke.
Richard J. Price, PhD, of UVA’s School of Medicine and School of Engineering, is using focused soundwaves to overcome the natural “blood-brain barrier,” which protects the brain from harmful pathogens. His approach aims to breach the barrier only where needed, and only when needed, and then deliver treatments in exquisitely precise fashion.
/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/price-lab-banner-all-caps.png00Rich Price/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/price-lab-banner-all-caps.pngRich Price2020-05-08 01:59:592020-05-08 02:00:35Focused Ultrasound Could Let Drugs Bypass the Blood-Brain Barrier
University of Virginia researchers are pioneering the use of focused ultrasound to defy the brain’s protective barrier so that doctors could, at last, deliver many treatments directly into the brain to battle neurological diseases. The approach, the researchers hope, could revolutionize treatment for conditions from Alzheimer’s to epilepsy to brain tumors – and even help repair the devastating damage caused by stroke.
“Because focused ultrasound has such a powerful combination of features — it’s an entirely unique and minimally invasive tool that can trigger a variety of responses in the body — it has tremendous potential for treating a host of medical problems,” says Richard Price, PhD, who is research director at the University of Virginia Focused Ultrasound Center. “There are probably many applications for focused ultrasound that we haven’t even begun to contemplate yet.”
One way to get drugs through the blood-brain barrier: smuggle them across using sound waves.
The blood-brain barrier, a name given to the tightly packed vascular cells in the brain’s capillaries, keeps the central nervous system remarkably free of most pathogens. But that defense is a major challenge for delivering drugs that treat brain disorders. One reason glioblastoma, an aggressive brain cancer, is so lethal is that treatments can’t get across the barrier to reach tumors.
/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/price-lab-banner-all-caps.png00Rich Price/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/price-lab-banner-all-caps.pngRich Price2019-05-29 17:07:402019-05-29 17:08:26Riding a Wave of Sound
An early-stage, non-invasive therapy, focused ultrasound works by focusing multiple beams of ultrasound onto targets deep within the body with a high degree of accuracy. In doing so, the focused sonic energy can destroy targeted cells while sparing adjacent normal tissue. But that’s not all it can do – as well as ablating tumours or other disease targets, focused ultrasound can be used to stimulate an immune response, open the blood–brain barrier (BBB) and much more.
For patients suffering from metastatic breast cancer, where the disease has spread throughout the body, the survival rate is only 22%. These women and men face ongoing treatment for the rest of their lives, often with harsh side effects. Although treatable, there is no cure for metastatic disease.
The University of Virginia Health System is working to change that, and has launched a clinical trial that uses groundbreaking focused ultrasound technology to target metastatic breast cancer and make tumors responsive to immunotherapy—without surgery.
/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/price-lab-banner-all-caps.png00Rich Price/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/price-lab-banner-all-caps.pngRich Price2017-11-20 16:36:022020-05-09 22:01:39Tackling Cancer Through Team Science
Can focused ultrasound be used as a tool to allow therapeutic agents to reach deadly brain tumors? Is it possible to stop the progression and spread of breast cancer? If Parkinson’s disease is diagnosed early, could its effect on the brain be reversed? These questions and more are being tackled by scientists in the Price Laboratory at the University of Virginia’s Biomedical Engineering Department.
The Focused Ultrasound Foundation announced that Richard Price, professor of biomedical engineering, radiology and radiation oncology, has been selected as the inaugural recipient of the $75,000 Andrew J. Lockhart Memorial Prize.
Terry and Eugene Lockhart, the parents of the award’s namesake, presented the prize on Oct. 2.
/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/price-lab-banner-all-caps.png00Rich Price/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/price-lab-banner-all-caps.pngRich Price2017-10-11 12:00:152017-10-19 16:42:53Price Earns Inaugural Prize for Cancer Treatment Using Focused Ultrasound
The Melanoma Research Alliance (MRA) and Cancer Research Institute (CRI) are collaborating with the Foundation to fund a new preclinical research project using focused ultrasound to enhance immunotherapy for melanoma brain metastases.
/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/price-lab-banner-all-caps.png00Rich Price/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/price-lab-banner-all-caps.pngRich Price2016-01-01 14:40:532017-10-05 18:37:05Focused Ultrasound Foundation teams up on melanoma brain metastases research
New Research Suggests Focused Ultrasound Could Improve Brain Tumor Gene Therapy
/0 Comments/in News /by Rich PriceSpring 2020
A collaborative research team led by Rich Price, PhD, at the University of Virginia and Justin Hanes, PhD, at Johns Hopkins University has published new, and somewhat unexpected, results from their preclinical nanoparticle gene delivery work.
Read More
Blood-brain barrier vs. focused ultrasound with MRI guidance
/0 Comments/in News /by Rich PriceSpring 2020
Researchers at the University of Virginia are exploring ways to break through the blood-brain barrier using MRI-guided focused ultrasound.
Read More
New technique could revolutionize treatment for Alzheimer’s, epilepsy, brain tumors
/0 Comments/in News /by Rich PriceSpring 2020
The approach, the researchers hope, could revolutionize treatment for conditions from Alzheimer’s to epilepsy to brain tumors – and even help repair the devastating damage caused by stroke.
Read More
Focused Ultrasound Could Let Drugs Bypass the Blood-Brain Barrier
/0 Comments/in News /by Rich PriceSpring 2020
Richard J. Price, PhD, of UVA’s School of Medicine and School of Engineering, is using focused soundwaves to overcome the natural “blood-brain barrier,” which protects the brain from harmful pathogens. His approach aims to breach the barrier only where needed, and only when needed, and then deliver treatments in exquisitely precise fashion.
Read More
Focused Ultrasound Opening Brain to Impossible Treatments
/0 Comments/in News /by Rich PriceSpring 2020
University of Virginia researchers are pioneering the use of focused ultrasound to defy the brain’s protective barrier so that doctors could, at last, deliver many treatments directly into the brain to battle neurological diseases. The approach, the researchers hope, could revolutionize treatment for conditions from Alzheimer’s to epilepsy to brain tumors – and even help repair the devastating damage caused by stroke.
Read More
Breaking the Ultrasound Barrier to Fight Disease
/0 Comments/in News /by Rich PriceSpring 2019
“Because focused ultrasound has such a powerful combination of features — it’s an entirely unique and minimally invasive tool that can trigger a variety of responses in the body — it has tremendous potential for treating a host of medical problems,” says Richard Price, PhD, who is research director at the University of Virginia Focused Ultrasound Center. “There are probably many applications for focused ultrasound that we haven’t even begun to contemplate yet.”
Read More
Riding a Wave of Sound
/0 Comments/in News /by Rich PriceSpring 2019
One way to get drugs through the blood-brain barrier: smuggle them across using sound waves.
Focused ultrasound opens the blood-brain barrier
/0 Comments/in News /by Rich PriceFall 2018
An early-stage, non-invasive therapy, focused ultrasound works by focusing multiple beams of ultrasound onto targets deep within the body with a high degree of accuracy. In doing so, the focused sonic energy can destroy targeted cells while sparing adjacent normal tissue. But that’s not all it can do – as well as ablating tumours or other disease targets, focused ultrasound can be used to stimulate an immune response, open the blood–brain barrier (BBB) and much more.
Read More
Tackling Cancer Through Team Science
/0 Comments/in News /by Rich PriceFall 2017
For patients suffering from metastatic breast cancer, where the disease has spread throughout the body, the survival rate is only 22%. These women and men face ongoing treatment for the rest of their lives, often with harsh side effects. Although treatable, there is no cure for metastatic disease.
The University of Virginia Health System is working to change that, and has launched a clinical trial that uses groundbreaking focused ultrasound technology to target metastatic breast cancer and make tumors responsive to immunotherapy—without surgery.
Read More.
Investigator Profile: Richard Price, PhD
/0 Comments/in News /by Rich PriceOctober 17, 2017.
Can focused ultrasound be used as a tool to allow therapeutic agents to reach deadly brain tumors? Is it possible to stop the progression and spread of breast cancer? If Parkinson’s disease is diagnosed early, could its effect on the brain be reversed? These questions and more are being tackled by scientists in the Price Laboratory at the University of Virginia’s Biomedical Engineering Department.
Read More.
Price Earns Inaugural Prize for Cancer Treatment Using Focused Ultrasound
/0 Comments/in News /by Rich PriceOctober 11, 2017
The Focused Ultrasound Foundation announced that Richard Price, professor of biomedical engineering, radiology and radiation oncology, has been selected as the inaugural recipient of the $75,000 Andrew J. Lockhart Memorial Prize.
Terry and Eugene Lockhart, the parents of the award’s namesake, presented the prize on Oct. 2.
Read More.
Focused Ultrasound Foundation teams up on melanoma brain metastases research
/0 Comments/in News /by Rich Price20 August 2015
The Melanoma Research Alliance (MRA) and Cancer Research Institute (CRI) are collaborating with the Foundation to fund a new preclinical research project using focused ultrasound to enhance immunotherapy for melanoma brain metastases.
Read More.