Science Advances · 17 July 2026 · From issue 09
In monkeys, opening the brain's shield on one side made the opposite side work harder for oxygen.
Soroosh Sanatkhani, Dong Liu et al., Focused ultrasound blood-brain barrier opening reveals a paradoxical remote metabolic response in the primate brain, Science Advances.
Doctors want to use focused sound waves to briefly open the brain's protective shield. This lets drugs pass through into the brain. In monkeys, opening this shield on one side of the brain left the treated spot unchanged. But the matching spot on the other, untouched side had to work much harder to get oxygen. This shows the treatment can affect brain areas far from where it was aimed.
Shown only in monkeys using brain oxygen scans, not tested in human patients.
Monkey study only, small sample, effects on humans still unknown.
Integrity screen: passed (3 checks) Checked 22 July 2026. Retraction record: none. DOI resolves at doi.org. Metadata record found (Science Advances). Read the source
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