Unlocking the Fortress of Thought: An innovative strategy to conquer the blood-brain barrier in the battle against brain tumors and Alzheimer’s disease

Because of the blood-brain barrier (BBB), a natural defense mechanism, it has been a challenge to release the mysteries of the brain and to effectively treat diseases such as brain tumors and Alzheimer’s disease. Despite its protective effect, BBB also poses a significant challenge in the fields of neurology and oncology, limiting potential life-saving drugs to affected brain areas. Faced with these challenges, latest advances in medical science have led to exciting breakthroughs that bypass this barrier and deliver drugs directly to where they are needed most, meaning that it is possible to improve treatment outcomes for brain patients with tumors and Alzheim Mer’s disease.

Under the guidance of Dr. Stephen Wong and Dr. Hong Zhao, teams at Houston Methodist Hospital and Texas A&M University, coupled with Gefei Song, Pierce Plumlee and Ju Young Ahn, used to evaluate the management of brain tumors and Alzheimer’s, under the guidance of Dr. Stephen Wong and Dr. Hong Zhao, a team at Houston Methodist Hospital and Texas A&M University, together with Gefei Song, Pierce Plumlee, and Ju Young Ahn, the management of brain tumors and Alzheimer’s. Contemporary clinical approach to disease. This comprehensive review has been published in the respected journal Biomedical and Drug Therapy, which represents an important step in seeking to improve treatments for these challenging neurological diseases.

The methods examined include focus ultrasound (FUS), which include high-intensity focus ultrasound (HIFU) and low-intensity concentrated ultrasound (LIFU); mannitol promotes the delivery of anti-plastic drugs; receptor-mediated antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) ) referral symptoms; and viral vectors used for gene therapy. Ongoing clinical trials using FUS technology can be divided into three categories: implanted ultrasound devices, MR-guided FUS devices (MRGFUs), and neurally driven devices.

The researchers also delve into the complex molecular dynamics of BBB, which may alter the disease. By adopting systems biology approaches and studying the interactions between genes, proteins, cells and signaling pathways, researchers are gaining valuable insights into the mechanisms associated with these changes. This enhanced understanding adds to identify novel strategies to effectively deliver drugs in the blood-brain barrier and blood-brain tumor barrier.

Despite the decrease in the number of clinical trials using these methods, trials combining FU with drug delivery have shown promising effectiveness. “Most of these clinical trials have a smaller cohort of patients and therefore lack statistical power to conclude that the need to investigate these strategies is required.” The remaining challenges include establishing safety profiles, determining the best parameters, and maximum Reduce off-target effects to a degree, coordinate the time of drug management related to FUS treatment, and create standardized methods for individual patients.

Systematic biological approaches provide new insights into the regulation of BBB and identify potential new targets and drug delivery pathways. By integrating molecular analysis, network analysis, and computational modeling, researchers can better understand the complexity of BBB and identify alternative treatment strategies. These findings are expected to improve selectivity and minimize off-target effects in drug delivery strategies. “To achieve this, we must continue to explore and expand our understanding of the complex molecular mechanisms involved in BBB traversal and the delivery of drugs targeting the brain,” the researchers debated. It seems that the study of the BBB traversal mechanism for the development of central nervous system diseases continues. Effective therapy is crucial.

A review by the team led by Dr. Stephen Wong and Hong Zhao illuminates a variety of strategies to bypass the blood-brain barrier (BBB) ​​to effectively treat brain diseases with a focus on focusing on ultrasound ( FUS) has a promising integration with drug-provided, role of mannitol in promoting drug permeability and the potential of receptor-mediated transcytosis (RMT) and gene therapy approaches. In particular, in the latest clinical trials, the integration of FUS with circulating microvesicles has shown increasingly promising efficacy in years of rigorous experiments, highlighting its role as a delivery of drugs to specific brains. The potential of non-invasive approaches to regionally enhance drug delivery. Furthermore, the study highlights the importance of emerging systems biology approaches in understanding the complex molecular dynamics of BBB. These methods, including molecular analysis, network analysis and computational modeling, are critical to identifying new drug delivery targets and strategies, aiming to improve treatment outcomes for brain tumors and Alzheimer’s disease. This article also highlights the need for further research to refine these technologies, establish safety profiles and develop standardized treatment options tailored to individual patient needs, marking an important step in seeking effective treatment of central nervous system diseases.

Overall, the findings reviewed by the researchers highlighted advances in developing innovative treatments for central nervous system (CNS) diseases. The possibility of significantly improving treatment outcomes in patients with brain tumors and Alzheimer’s disease is not only a distant dream, but an imminent reality as we stand on the brink of a new era in neurotherapeutic interventions. However, they also highlighted the ongoing need for further research and improvement of the current approach. Continuing to explore the molecular mechanisms associated with blood-brain barrier (BBB) ​​penetration and targeted drug delivery is crucial to the development of novel and effective treatments for central nervous system diseases.

Journal Reference

Song G, Plumlee P, Ahn JY, Wong ST, Zhao H. “Transformational Strategies and Systematic Biology Insight into Blood-Brain Barrier Opening and Delivery in Brain Tumors and Alzheimer’s Disease.” Biomed Pharmacother, November 2023; 167 :115450. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopha.2023.115450

About the author

Hong ZhaoMD, PhD, serves as associate professor of molecular medicine at the Houston Methodist Academic Institute and Will Cornell Medicine, and serves as co-director of the Houston Methodist Advanced Tissue and Cell Microscopy Core Facilities. Her research is supported by multiple NIH grants, all within the field of cancer systems biology. She has published more than 100 scientific publications, including more than 1,700 citations and two U.S. patents.

Gefei (Sylvia) songs, BS, Previously a research assistant at the Department of Medicine and Bioengineering (SMAB) in Houston near the Cancer Center, he holds a double bachelor’s degree in biology and statistics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She is currently pursuing her master’s degree in biostatistics at the University of California, Berkeley. Her research focuses on understanding cancer mechanisms, disease modeling, and computational biology.

After an internship at the Houston Methodist Church near the SMAB department of the Cancer Center, supported by the NCI Cancer Systems Biosynia Alliance, Pierce Plumlee Advance from the Bachelor of Biomedical Engineering from the University of Alabama University of Birmingham. His research delves into cancer biology, osteogenesis, and cardiomyopathy.

Ju Young AhnJohn Hopkins is a biomedical engineer educated by John Hopkins and is currently a graduate research assistant at the Houston Methodist Church (Smab) and pursues a MD/D. at Texas A&M University. His paper was conducted in Wong’s laboratory and explores tumor microenvironment, Alzheimer’s disease, computational biology, and machine learning.