International scientists tackle obstacles to treating brain... (al disorders said Neuwelt director of OH...)

International scientists tackle obstacles to treating brain disorders

Date:12/20/2007

al disorders, said Neuwelt, director of OHSUs Blood-Brain Barrier Program. However, like the Great Wall of China, there are portals in the barrier that, with proper research, offer a way through. Neuwelt studies ways to open the blood-brain barrier. Other investigators are studying a Trojan horse approach in which therapeutic agents are attached to parts of proteins, such as insulin, that normally cross the barrier.

The researchers examined six topic areas surrounding brain barriers that need to be addressed in order to advance scientific understanding and ultimately improve patient care: Inflammation, injury, tumors, neurodegeneration, specialized barriers, and delivery.

When the brain is injured, as in the case of a stroke, the blood-brain barrier is altered near the site of injury. Changes in the barrier have an effect on how the injury progresses and how much neural tissue is damaged. The researchers suggest that better imaging techniques must be developed to better view the barrier near the injury site.

Improved imaging will also help in furthering research into the effect of brain barriers on tumors. Current imaging techniques do not accurately show the tumors size, location, type, and response to therapy.

In the study of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinsons, the researchers said often brain barrier is overlooked or only viewed as a barrier to drug delivery. The article suggests that brain barriers play a larger role in the progression of degenerative disease, and that researchers should focus on how the changes in the barriers relate to brain degeneration during the aging process.

In addition to the blood-brain barrier, there are other more specialized barriers in the brain that function in different ways. The scientists suggest that more research needs to be done on how these barriers act alone and in concert with other barriers. Currently there are only limited experimental models of these specialized barriers, and thus lit
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Contact: Sara Buss
buss@umn.edu
612-626-7037
University of Minnesota
Source:Eurekalert

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International scientists tackle obstacles to treating brain...(al disorders said Neuwelt director of OH...)