The Blood Brain Barrier functions to keep harmful organisms and substances out of our brain. But it's a double-edged sword as it can also prevent useful drugs from crossing in. Let's find out more..
Our brain is one of the most complex organs in our body. It weighs about 2% of our total body weight, but utilises about 20% of our energy. There are more than 100 billion brain cells which communicate by electrical impulses known as synapses.
The brain is shielded from an influx of harmful substances by a layer of endothelial cells called Blood-Brain Barrier (BBB). It provides a natural protective function to impede the entry of harmful substances into the central nervous system (CNS). The BBB regulates:
- delivery of nutrients into the brain.
- removal of unwanted toxins.
- recruitment of leukocytes (WBC) to maintain normal brain homeostasis (balance).
A link to 3 conditions
Epilepsy is characterised by seizures. The frequency is higher in males. 20% of patients with epilepsy die from the condition. Seizures can promote amyloid-beta peptide deposits, which can result in Alzheimer and Parkinson.
A common form of treatment is through intrathecal injection (where the drug is injected into the spinal cord fluid via a lumbar puncture). However patients may suffer from frightening side effects of this procedure, including bleeding in the brain, infection and swelling of the brain.
As such, there is a growing interest in the use of nanoparticles to traverse through the BBB (as they are about 100 times smaller than the diameter of a strand of human hair). The most common applications of nanoparticles are in the cosmetics, food manufacturing and biomedical industries. The use of nanoparticles is especially promising as:
- Its mechanism does not affect the baseline permeability of the BBB.
- Nanoparticles bear naturally-occurring components to cross the BBB. They can evade recognition by the immune system and thus escape destruction in the event of inflammatory response.
Nanoparticles have been engineered to effectively transport drugs across the BBB by targeting receptors involved in endocytosis (a process by which a cell brings substances into itself).
Many studies have been carried out, such as:
(a) An animal study using rats, described the delivery of an anti-epileptic peptide, galanin, that is capable of inhibiting glutamate release in the hippocampus (thereby reducing the onset of seizures).
(b) A study targets the alpha-synuclein protein, which plays a role in Parkinson.
(c) An animal study assessed the inhibition of alpha-synuclein fibrillation and protection from the progressive loss of dopaminergic neutrons, in relation to Parkinson.
(d) In another study, researches have proven that alpha-synuclein can be prevented from activating in microglial cells via scavenger receptor CD36-binding nanoparticles.
(e) In an animal study of Parkinson, lipid nano carriers loaded with GDNF (glial cell derived neurotrophic factor) plasmids were combined with micro bubbles for MRI-guided focused ultrasound mediated effects that led to a reduction in nerve cell death and helped alleviate behavioural changes due to the disease.
The nose-to-brain route of administration could be a way to improve the delivery of drug-loaded particles to specific regions of the brain. Delivery via this route bypasses the BBB and enables direct delivery to the brain. The complication with this strategy is that:
(i) It requires the nanoparticles to have augmented properties, such as protecting the molecules within them from being destroyed or damaged in the nasal cavity; and
(ii) Nanoparticles need to get through the nose's mucosal barrier.
The clinical translation of nanoparticles (ie. nanoparticles approved for brain targeting and treatment) is difficult and demanding as it requires substantial time and effort.
(Source: Infiltrating the BBB, StarHealth 15/1/2023)
Yung Kien C Ganoderma
The good news is Shuang Hor has successfully developed a product called Yung Kien C Ganoderma (YKC), which is effective for brain diseases. This is achievable because the ganoderic acid component in YKC has very small molecular structure and thus can pass through the BBB into the brain tissues. As such, YKC has a good effect on brain diseases such as seizures, epilepsy, Alzheimer and Parkinson. It is a breakthrough for Shuang Hor.
In an experiment, mice whose brain have been induced with Alzheimer are fed with YKC. The result shows YKC can improve the diseases that cause degeneration of brain neurons.
How to purchase?
Click on this link to register and then you can proceed with your order of YKC
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