Circumventing the Blood Brain Barrier

As we have all learned about extensively in class, the blood brain barrier is a specialized cell barrier that separates the brain from the rest of the body. This barrier only selectively allows key nutrients and molecules through into the brain, thus tightly regulating this privileged space. While this regulation may be necessary for the body to function, it greatly inhibits the abilities of scientists to deliver drugs targeted to brain tissue.

A group of researchers at Cornell University this they have found the solution. On a study performed on mice, researchers discovered that adenosine receptors located on the blood brain barrier cells could open up a path into the brain when they are activated. This solution is in contrast to previous researcher attempts to bind to accepted molecules and other such methods in order to get drugs across the barrier. The researches have effectively delivered many macro molecules into the brain using this new method without much trough.

There currently exist many antagonists for adenosine receptors, however they do not exist for humans. Future research will explore the potential application of this method of circumventing the blood brain barrier in humans.

This article was very interesting to me, as one of the main problems for treating brain diseases is getting drugs through the barrier. In our recent device design project, we had to find a way to transport nano machines into the brain to treat the unconscious states. Many groups concluded that injection directly into the brain was the best way, but this procedure is risky and very invasive. A method such as the one discovered would be much simpler and useful for treating a wide variety of conditions with minimal side effects. As a bioengineer interested in minimally invasive techniques, circumventing the blood brain barrier in a natural way seems to me a worthy cause.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110913172631.htm