February 2017 Research Roundup

Focused ultrasound brain research is at the center of this month’s roundup. A new paper from Kullervo Hynynen’s group looks at blood-brain barrier restoration time; a new ultrasound technique for optogenetics is being developed at Columbia University; and our study with the University of Virginia compares focused ultrasound to the gamma knife for essential tremor thalamotomy.

Does the time needed to restore the blood-brain barrier after a treatment depend on the volume opened? Researchers from Sunnybrook Research Institute and the University of Toronto led by Kullervo Hynynen address this question. See Blood-Brain Barrier Closure Time After Controlled Ultrasound-Induced Opening Is Independent of Opening Volume in the Journal of Ultrasound in Medicine.

Neuroscience researchers who use optogenetics (control of genetically modified neurons with light-sensitive ion channels) will be interested in a new ultrasound technique proposed by Elisa Konofagou’s group at Columbia University. See Non-invasive, Focused Ultrasound-Facilitated Gene Delivery for Optogenetics in Scientific Reports.

Will measuring proportional cell survival allow the comparison of focused ultrasound to gamma knife ablation for individual or combined lesioning in the brain? See Equivalence of Cell Survival Data for Radiation Dose and Thermal Dose in Ablative Treatments: Analysis Applied to Essential Tremor Thalamotomy by Focused Ultrasound and Gamma Knife in the International Journal of Hyperthermia.