The blood brain barrier (BBB) serves as a protective mechanism for the brain. It prevents entry of pernicious substances, whether chemical or cellular, from free access to the CNS. In essence, it is a defense mechanism preserving the internal milieu of the brain. The BBB may be disrupted by a number of pathological processes. CNS infection is a well recognized cause of BBB disruption. Among the...

The blood-brain barrier (BBB) poses a unique challenge for drug delivery to the central nervous system (CNS). The BBB consists of a continuous layer of specialized endothelial cells linked together by tight junctions, pericytes, nonfenestrated basal lamina, and astrocytic foot processes. This complex barrier controls and limits the systemic delivery of therapeutics to the CNS. Several innovativ...

The blood-brain barrier (BBB) is composed mainly of specialized endothelial cells characterized by the presence of intercellular tight junctions. Additionally, perivascular cells, astrocytes, and surrounding basement membranes determine BBB integrity. BBB disruption is an early phenomenon in the formation of new white matter multiple sclerosis (MS) lesions; however, knowledge of the extent of B...

Focused ultrasound (FUS), in combination with microbubbles, has been found to open the blood-brain barrier (BBB) non-invasively. When this technique is used for drug delivery, repeated drug administration and BBB opening are likely required. Therefore, it is worth investigating the long-term effects of FUS-induced BBB opening. In this study, we focused on the assessment of potential behavior ch...

The relationship of partial bilateral bundle branch Mock to hospital mortality from acute myocardial infarction (MI) was studied concerning the need for prophylactic temporary transvenous pacemakers. Factors examined for their contributions to hospital mortality in 156 consecutive patients with acute MI were: age, sex, race, infarct location, number of prior infarctions, heart failure class (1-...

Neural signalling within the central nervous system (CNS) requires a highly controlled microenvironment. Cells at three key interfaces form barriers between the blood and the CNS: the blood-brain barrier (BBB), blood-CSF barrier and the arachnoid barrier. The BBB at the level of brain microvessel endothelium is the major site of blood-CNS exchange. The structure and function of the BBB is summa...

The brain is protected from the entry of foreign substances by blood-brain barrier (BBB), but becomes a barrier while chemotherapy is needed for the brain diseases. Ultrasound with microbubbles (MBs) has been shown to noninvasively increase the permeability of the BBB in the normal tissue and brain tumor. The real mechanism for disruption is still unknown. Hemorrhage was usually found in the so...

OBJECTIVE Community-based exercise programs are popular for achieving physical activity among older adults, but the amount of physical activity obtained through such programs is unknown. This study quantified the bone-loading forces and levels of cardiovascular activity associated with participation in "Better Bones and Balance" (BBB), a community-based fall- and fracture-prevention program for...

Pivotal to brain development and function is an intact blood-brain barrier (BBB), which acts as a gatekeeper to control the passage and exchange of molecules and nutrients between the circulatory system and the brain parenchyma. The BBB also ensures homeostasis of the central nervous system (CNS). We report that germ-free mice, beginning with intrauterine life, displayed increased BBB permeabil...

UNLABELLED Pattern recognition receptor (PRR) detection of pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs), such as viral RNA, drives innate immune responses against West Nile virus (WNV), an emerging neurotropic pathogen. Here we demonstrate that WNV PAMPs orchestrate endothelial responses to WNV via competing innate immune cytokine signals at the blood-brain barrier (BBB), a multicellular inte...