One of the main obstacles in the treatment of fatal brain cancer glioblastoma is that the most effective chemotherapy drugs can not penetrate the blood-brain barrier to reach brain tumor. But now, the team from Northwestern University School of Medicine in the United States has reported the results of a Phase I human clinical trial, using a new type of skull implantable ultrasound device to open the blood-brain barrier and repeatedly infiltrate chemotherapy drugs into large critical areas of the human brain to enhance treatment effectiveness. The research results are published in the new issue of "The Lancet Oncology". The 4-minute procedure to open the blood-brain barrier is performed while the patient is awake, and they can return home in a few hours. The results showed that the treatment was safe and well tolerated, and opening the blood-brain barrier resulted in an increase of drug concentration in the human brain by approximately 4-6 times. Scientists observed this increase using two different powerful chemotherapy drugs, paclitaxel and carboplatin. In addition, this is the first study to describe the closure speed of the blood-brain barrier after ultrasound treatment. Scientists have found that most of the recovery of the blood-brain barrier occurs within 30-60 minutes after ultrasound treatment. This discovery will help optimize the sequence of drug delivery and ultrasound activation to maximize drug penetration into the human brain. For patients with glioblastoma, this study is a huge advance. Currently available chemotherapy drug Temozolomide can also cross the blood-brain barrier, but it is a weak drug. Although direct injection of paclitaxel into the brains of these tumor patients can observe signs of therapeutic effect, direct injection may lead to problems such as brain stimulation and meningitis. This study is the first to use a new skull implantable mesh designed by French biotechnology company Carthera, consisting of 9 ultrasound transmitters. After removing glioblastoma, it can also cover a large area adjacent to the remaining cavity in the brain. (Outlook New Era Network)