The superparamagnetic properties of magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) allow them to be guided by an externally positioned magnet and also provide contrast for MRI. However, their therapeutic use in treating CNS pathologies in vivo is limited by insufficient local accumulation and retention resulting from their inability to traverse biological barriers. The combined use of focused ultrasound and magnetic targeting synergistically delivers therapeutic MNPs across the blood-brain barrier to enter the brain both passively and actively. Therapeutic MNPs were characterized and evaluated both in vitro and in vivo, and MRI was used to monitor and quantify their distribution in vivo. The technique could be used in normal brains or in those with tumors, and significantly increased the deposition of therapeutic MNPs in brains with intact or compromised blood-brain barriers. Synergistic targeting and image monitoring are powerful techniques for the delivery of macromolecular chemotherapeutic agents into the CNS under the guidance of MRI.blood-brain barrier | brain drug delivery | focused ultrasound | magnetic nanoparticles | magnetic targeting

This study demonstrates a means of increasing localized chemotherapeutic drug delivery for brain tumor treatment and strongly supports the feasibility of this treatment in a clinical setting.

Diffusion kurtosis imaging in the basal ganglia, as compared with conventional diffusion-tensor imaging, can improve the diagnosis of PD.

The therapeutic effectiveness of chemotherapy is optimal only when tumor cells are subjected to a maximum drug exposure. To increase the intratumoral drug concentration and thus the efficacy of chemotherapy, a thermoresponsive bubble-generating liposomal system is proposed for triggering localized extracellular drug delivery. The key component of this liposomal formulation is the encapsulated ammonium bicarbonate (ABC), which is used to create the transmembrane gradient needed for a highly efficient encapsulation of doxorubicin (DOX). At an elevated temperature (42 °C), decomposition of ABC generates CO(2) bubbles, creating permeable defects in the lipid bilayer that rapidly release DOX and instantly increase the drug concentration locally. Because the generated CO(2) bubbles are hyperechogenic, they also enhance ultrasound imaging. Consequently, this new liposomal system encapsulated with ABC may also provide an ability to monitor a temperature-controlled drug delivery process.