Researchers from Columbia University and New York Presbyterian Hospital have developed an implantable pump that
The blood-brain barrier is important forprevent the penetration of bacteria and foreign substances into the brain. But, unfortunately, most drugs cannot overcome it either, including chemotherapy drugs for the treatment of brain cancer. They are administered orally or intravenously, and they enter the brain only in low concentrations.
Scientists have been trying to overcome it for a long time, and nowAmerican researchers succeeded. They tested an implantable pump system that delivers chemotherapy drugs directly to the brain. First, a small pump is surgically implanted into the patient's abdomen, then a thin, flexible catheter is inserted under the skin and up into the part of the brain where the tumor is located.
The idea is that the pump delivers the medicine as needed. It can be turned on and off wirelessly, and, if necessary, filled with a needle.
“If you administer the drug very slowly, literallya few drops per hour, it penetrates into the brain tissue, scientists explain. — The concentration of the drug that enters the brain is 1,000 times higher than if the drug is administered intravenously or orally. The pump can remain in place for a long period of time, so higher doses of medication can be administered directly into the brain without causing side effects.”
During the trial, five patients with recurrentglioblastoma patients were implanted with pumps that delivered the chemotherapy drug topotecan as well as the tracer gadolinium so scientists could measure the concentration and distribution of the drug. Patients received four consecutive weekly courses of treatment, with the pump turned on for two days and turned off for five days.
MRI scans carried out several times laterdays after treatment, it showed that the chemotherapy drug successfully saturates the tumor and the surrounding area. A biopsy after treatment showed that the number of active tumor cells decreased significantly without affecting healthy brain tissue. And, importantly, not a single patient had serious neurological complications.
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On the cover:Brain scans of five patients taken (from above) before treatment and 14, 24, and 48 hours after treatment show the concentration of the chemotherapy drug near the tumors. Author: Jeffrey Bruce, Columbia University Medical Center in Irving