New Model Provides Closer Look at Blood-Brain Barrier

Using an experimental model to simulate the blood-brain barrier, scientists at the Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden have reported in detail how antioxidants protect the brain from inflammation caused by neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. Their findings were published in Small. 

The study showed in minute-by-minute detail how the blood-brain barrier reacts to high levels of inflammation after the administration of a next-generation derivative of the widely-used anti-inflammatory drug, NAC (N-acetylcysteine). The testing of NACA (N-Acetylcysteine Amide) for the first time with human stem cell-derived cells showed that the breakdown of the barrier under high loads of inflammation is "actually more complex than we thought," says lead researcher Thomas Winkler.

"This was the first test of this NACA compound with human stem cells," Winkler says. "The results show that we can use this to test other derivatives of the NAC compound—as well as different antioxidants—and see if we find anything that has even higher neural protection."

The researchers' "brain-on-chip" model is actually a two-layered set-up where small channels carry simulated blood and inflammation agents, as well as anti-inflammatory drugs, through compartments simulating the perivascular space within the brain, and the external vascular system. Winkler says that the minute-by-minute detail is important because many cellular processes happen quickly. "As an example, when you first administer a drug, it causes a huge change in cells, then levels out," Winkler says. "In the typical methods of testing drugs, you wouldn't see those rapid changes. We can now see that the breakdown of the blood-brain barrier happens fast under stress and we could see how that could be prevented with the anti-oxidant," he says.