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Techniques that bypass or trick the guardian of the central nervous system.
Developing drugs that can penetrate into the brain requires some creativity. The approaches vary, each technique comes with its benefits and drawbacks, making it appropriate for some patients or drug types but not others.
In some diseases, you might want the drug everywhere; in others you might want it specifically localized to specific brain regions.
The blood vessel endothelial cells of the Blood Brain Barrier (BBB) are cemented together by tight junctions which allow only transport of selected vital nutrients into the brain . BBB also possess efflux pumps. Pericytes and astrocyte pseudopods serve as an additional barrier between the blood vessel and brain tissue.
BBB is not just a wall. It is a whole series of physical properties that allow the vessels to control what goes between the blood and the brain.
For example, antibodies actually can get into the brain, just not very efficiently. For every thousand antibodies injected into the blood stream, only one will find its way into the brain avoiding the BBB guard. Ultimately, that dramatic decrease concentration able to reach the brain would require using higher systemic doses would cause harmful effects in the rest of the body.
The immune system is not always good for the brain, or it’s always bad for the brain. It depends on the conditions. Using immune cells, viruses, or nanoparticles studded with natural substrates of BBB transporters or receptors, drugs may be able to sneak their way past the BBB without damaging its normal function. Such approaches may be key to delivering therapies to the brain without the safety issues associated with more-invasive techniques. , but they come with the trade-off of losing the ability to target drugs to precise locations.
Specializing in rare disease, Boston Biotech Clinical Research works with biotech, pharmaceutical, device companies and investors to streamline the clinical trial process. Our experienced team helps each client reach their specific goals by customizing a clinical and regulatory road map of simplified programs and streamlined protocols to meet our clients’ requirements.