AIMS While vascular pathology is a common feature of a range of neurodegenerative diseases, we hypothesized that vascular changes occur in association with normal ageing. Therefore, we aimed to characterize age-associated changes in the blood-brain barrier (BBB) in human and mouse cohorts. METHODS Immunohistochemistry and Evans blue assays were used to characterize BBB dysfunction (tight junc...

Excessive production of nitric oxide (NO) in the central nervous system is suspected to contribute to neurodegenerative diseases. Previous studies showed that excessive central nervous system NO increased the permeability of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) during experimental meningitis. The present work hypothesizes that the various NO redox forms (NO(*), NO(+), NO(-)) differentially mediate dis...

are that in vitro models do not fully recapitulate the in vivo BBB and difficulties in obtaining the appropriate human tissue necessary for in vitro modeling. The paper in this issue by Lippmann et al. (2011) from the group of Eric Shusta, is an important step towards resolving both these issues. The BBB is formed by the cerebral endothelial cells and their linking tight junctions. However, BBB...

P-glycoprotein (P-gp) is a major efflux transporter contributing to the efflux of a range of xenobiotic compounds at the blood-brain barrier (BBB). In the present study, we evaluated the P-gp function at the BBB using positron emission tomography (PET) in nonhuman primates. Serial brain PET scans were obtained in three rhesus monkeys after intravenous administration of [(11)C]verapamil under co...

The blood–brain barrier (BBB) plays a fundamental role in the integrity of brain homeostasis. Acute disruption and also even slight shifting of equilibrium of structural elements or transport processes might lead to substantial consequences, resulting in neurological disorders (1). There is a fundamental need for the development and improvement of in vitro models of the BBB in order to understa...

blood brain barrier (bbb) is a specialized non fenestrate barrier that formation by the endothelial cells and controls the transportation of the cells and molecules in to the brain. reducing in function of bbb is one of disruptions in neurological diseases like multiple sclerosis. endothelial progenitor cell (epc) help to the bbb to control the diapedesis of inflammatory cells & molecules in to...

We examined the effects of hyperosmolality on blood-brain barrier (BBB) permeability during development to test the vulnerability of the immature barrier to stress. The BBB response to hyperosmolality was quantified using the blood-to-brain transfer constant (Ki) with alpha-aminoisobutyric acid in fetuses at 60% and 90% gestation, premature, newborn, and older lambs. Ki plotted against osmolali...

Let P ∈ Q <m...