Researchers from Saratov National Research State University, led by NG Chernyshevsky, explored how music might influence the delivery of cancer drugs to brain tissue. The findings were shared with socialbites.ca through the press service of the National Project Science and Universities.
The blood-brain barrier (BBB) serves as a shield that blocks many harmful substances from reaching the brain, but it also restricts therapeutic agents from reaching brain tissue. This barrier presents a major challenge in treating a range of brain diseases and tumors.
In their work, the SSU team demonstrated that exposure to loud music can temporarily affect the barrier in normal brain vessels and may speed up the drainage of fluids through brain tissues.
When rats were exposed to rock music at a volume of about 100 decibels for two hours, the BBB’s permeability increased by roughly 30 to 40 percent. Importantly, this musical exposure did not appear to damage brain tissue or cognitive function, nor did it affect hearing, and the barrier tended to recover over time. Deaf rats did not show the same barrier opening.
The opening of the BBB allowed for better distribution of a therapeutic agent, which correlated with improved survival in rats bearing glioblastoma that received treatment alongside the loud music exposure.
According to Oksana Semyachkina-Glushkovskaya, head of the Human and Animal Physiology department at SSU, the advantage of using sound in this context is that the barrier opens broadly, enabling drugs to reach tumor sites through vulnerable areas. The researchers described a mechanism in which sound waves interact with barrier proteins, momentarily enabling drug entry into brain vessels. This work was presented by the SSU Faculty of Biology in statements about how vascular responses to loud noise connect the inner ear to brain vessels, facilitating drug access to the brain.
Looking ahead, the team plans to further investigate how music affects the BBB during drug delivery for additional brain conditions, including Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases. The goal is to determine whether similar approaches could support more effective therapies in future studies and potential clinical contexts. [Citation: SSU research communications, 2024]