Transcranial Focused Ultrasound-Mediated Unbinding of Phenytoin for Suppression of Chronic Temporal Lobe Epilepsy in a Rodent Model

The study investigated the use of transcranial focused ultrasound (FUS) to enhance the anti-epileptic effects of phenytoin (PHT) in a rodent model of chronic temporal lobe epilepsy. The researchers found that applying non-thermal low-intensity FUS to a brain hemisphere in rodents increased the uptake of PHT without altering the blood-brain barrier integrity. This was achieved by unbinding the drug from plasma albumin, which usually limits the drug's pharmacological action. The study involved 30 male Sprague–Dawley rats, divided into three groups of 10 each. The results showed that the combination of FUS and PHT significantly reduced seizure indices compared to PHT alone or FUS alone, suggesting that FUS could enhance the effectiveness of PHT in suppressing seizures. The FUS technique was found to be safe, with no significant damage to brain tissue observed.