Scientists from the Tokyo University of Medicine and Dentistry have discovered fat molecules that can deliver stroke medications to the brain – often impossible due to the barrier between the brain’s circulatory system and the rest of the body. The research was published in the journal Molecular Therapy.
The blood-brain barrier (BBB) is the boundary between the circulatory system of the brain and the rest of the body. It prevents viruses, bacteria and toxic products from entering the central nervous system by trapping them. At the same time, the BBB does not allow many drugs to enter the brain.
Previously, the study’s authors found that specific molecules, antisense oligonucleotides, can increase the production of beneficial (inflammatory-reducing) proteins or decrease the production of harmful (inflammatory-promoting) proteins, for example, after a stroke. In the new study, the scientists modified the oligonucleotide molecules and attached them to a special type of lipid, α-tocopherol.
The scientists tested the drug on mice: the animals were injected intravenously after an artificially induced stroke. The autopsy showed that very high levels of tocopherol-related molecules were observed only in the part of the brain affected by the stroke. This means that they specifically accumulate in the damaged area.
Biologists believe that increasing the amount of anti-inflammatory proteins and/or reducing the amount of inflammatory proteins in the brain affected by stroke will help prevent secondary brain damage after a stroke and lead to reduced disability associated with stroke.