X-Message-Number: 13091 Date: Sat, 15 Jan 2000 16:38:14 -0800 From: Jeff Davis <> Subject: penetrating the blood-brain barrier Friends, Occasionally, when the subject of cryoprotectant absorbtion by brain tissue comes up, the Blood-Brain Barrier is mentioned as an impediment. The following article from Eurekalert has some promising news re the BBB problem. Oregon Health Sciences University Researchers track long-term results of chemotherapy assisted by blood-brain barrier disruption The article mentions that >More than 15 years ago, OHSU neurosurgeon Edward A. Neuwelt, M.D., pioneered a > unique method for outwitting the blood-brain barrier. Neuwelt found the introduction > of a concentrated sugar solution caused a temporary disruption of the barrier allowing > for the passage of chemotherapy drugs. Which I find interesting because, as I recall, some animals use elevated sugar levels as a kind natural "antifreeze"(cryoprotectant) when exposed to extreme cold in their natural environment. And while I'm on the subject, not that long ago there was this, again from Eurekalert: University of Maryland Medical Center UM researchers discover 'key' to blood-brain barrier Findings Could Lead to New Treatments for Brain Disorders Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore have identified a receptor in the human brain that regulates the interface between the bloodstream and the brain, which is known as the blood-brain barrier. The full text of the announcements can be found at Eurekalert, which can be found at: http://www.eurekalert.org/ Best, Jeff Davis "Everything's hard till you know how to do it." Ray Charles Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=13091