November 30, 2025

@michaelokun

Do we need to go smaller (nano) for new Parkinson's, Alzheimer's and neurological disease therapies? Check out this sound-triggered liposome approach for brain and nerve drug delivery. Liposomes are tiny fat-based bubbles that can carry medications and release them precisely when activated by an external signal like ultrasound. This technology could open the door to targeted drug delivery and noninvasive neuromodulation, while limiting side effects. Purohit, Airan and colleagues describe in a new paper in Nature Nanotechnology how acoustically 'activatable' liposomes can be engineered w/ validated pharmaceutical ingredients to release medications on demand in the brain and body using low-intensity ultrasound. Key Points: - Engineered liposomes w/ sucrose altered their acoustic properties which made them highly responsive to pulsed low-intensity ultrasound while remaining stable during circulation. - Applying ultrasound enabled site-specific release of drugs such as ketamine in the brain and ropivacaine at peripheral nerves. - The approach was capable of neuromodulation without tissue injury. - Spatial control of drug delivery of only a few millimeters, yielding precise functional effects in circuits tied to mood and sensory processing. My take: I had the honor of interviewing Raag Airan for the www.pdplan.org book and his work is just fantastic. We need to think about going nano for PD, AD and beyond. Here are 5 points that resonated w/ me about his recent paper: 1- This approach offers us a way to turn drugs on only where they are needed, which may limit unwanted side effects in the rest of the body. 2- Ultrasound can act like a remote control allowing us to release medication inside specific brain circuits or along a single nerve. 3- Using liposomes made w/ standard pharmaceutical ingredients will increase the chance this technology can translate quickly to real clinical care. 4- The ability to focus ultrasound means we may one day tailor treatments for mood disorders, pain or neurologic disease in a far more personalized manner. 5- Activating existing medications at precise sites is an advantage. #michaelokun #fixelinstitute #parkinson #nano #nanomedicine