Title:Evolving Drug Delivery Strategies to Overcome the Blood Brain Barrier
Volume: 22
Issue: 9
Author(s): David S. Hersh, Aniket S. Wadajkar, Nathan B. Roberts, Jimena G. Perez, Nina P. Connolly, Victor Frenkel, Jeffrey A. Winkles, Graeme F. Woodworth and Anthony J. Kim
Affiliation:
Keywords:
Central Nervous System (CNS), Blood-Brain Barrier (BBB), nanotechnology, ultrasound, immunotherapy.
Abstract: 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 innovative
strategies have been explored to enhance the transport of therapeutics across the BBB, each with individual advantages and disadvantages.
Ongoing advances in delivery approaches that overcome the BBB are enabling more effective therapies for CNS diseases. In this
review, we discuss: (1) the physiological properties of the BBB, (2) conventional strategies to enhance paracellular and transcellular
transport through the BBB, (3) emerging concepts to overcome the BBB, and (4) alternative CNS drug delivery strategies that bypass the
BBB entirely. Based on these exciting advances, we anticipate that in the near future, drug delivery research efforts will lead to more effective
therapeutic interventions for diseases of the CNS.
