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Reading and writing the blood-brain barrier: relevance to therapeutics
- Source :
- Recent patents on CNS drug discovery. 1(2)
- Publication Year :
- 2008
-
Abstract
- The blood-brain barrier (BBB) serves to protect the central nervous system (CNS) from damage by exogenous molecules. In doing so, it also can prevent some drugs from reaching their sites of action. Accordingly, a variety of methods for bypassing the BBB have been developed. Ekwuribe et al. recently patented a method for drug conjugation in order to increase lipophilicity, and therefore BBB permeability. Shalev developed a device for opening the barrier via parasympathetic nerve fiber stimulation and Gudkov et al. produced compounds that modulate the activity of multidrug transporter proteins, by either increasing or decreasing the selective permeability of the BBB. A variety of CNS disorders contribute to barrier disruption, and detection of this opening can be used for both diagnostic purposes and for determining time periods when drugs can more easily enter the CNS. While expensive and time-consuming imaging techniques are currently used for this purpose, Janigro et al. have devised a method for detecting plasma levels of S100beta, a peripheral protein marker for BBB disruption. These techniques for both "reading" and "writing" the BBB will help new and old medications to reach their pharmacological targets in the CNS.
- Subjects :
- business.industry
Central nervous system
S100 Proteins
Stimulation
Plasma levels
Parasympathetic nerve
Blood–brain barrier
Permeability
Tight Junctions
Psychiatry and Mental health
medicine.anatomical_structure
Drug conjugation
Blood-Brain Barrier
Osmotic Pressure
Drug Discovery
medicine
Animals
Humans
Pharmacology (medical)
business
Neuroscience
Bbb permeability
Multidrug transporter
Central Nervous System Agents
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 15748898
- Volume :
- 1
- Issue :
- 2
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Recent patents on CNS drug discovery
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....415805a1f94f3adc5340e8f8674948d7