Ultrasound Blood-Brain Barrier Opening and Aducanumab in Alzheimer's Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

The blood-brain barrier (BBB) presents a significant challenge in treating Alzheimer's disease, as it restricts the delivery of therapeutic medications to brain tissue. Reversible breaking of the BBB using low-intensity focused ultrasound guided by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) may benefit patients with Alzheimer's disease and other neurological illnesses, such as brain tumors, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and Parkinson's disease. This systematic study and meta-analysis aimed to assess aducanumab and the ultrasonography of BBB opening in Alzheimer's patients. According to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA), the study was conducted by searching six digital repositories for relevant scholarly literature, focusing on English papers published between 2015 and 2024; the data was extracted using an Excel sheet, and data was analyzed using Revman 5.4.1 software. The study's findings indicate that the groups receiving ultrasound and aducanumab treatment benefited from it; however, overall, the effect was not statistically significant (P=0.29) at 95% CI 0.86 (0.75, 1.00). With regard to side effects, the results indicate that the treatment had fewer side effects compared to the control group; however, the difference was not statistically significant (p=0.94) at 95% CI 0.93 (0.70, 1.22). The study found a positive effect of ultrasound and aducanumab on the treatment groups, but it was not statistically significant. The control group had less side effects than the treatment group. Therefore, future studies should focus on the quantity or combination of the drug that yields more effective results.