Korean Researchers Make Discovery in Brain Treatment

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Korean Researchers Make Discovery in Brain Treatment

Jun.18,2007

The blood brain barrier, or BBB, is a cellular structure that acts to

protect the brain by preventing the inflow of foreign substances

through blood vessels. But because the BBB also blocks medication, it

can hamper the treatment of disorders like dementia, Parkinson's

disease and encephalitis. Now a joint team of Korean and U.S.

researchers has discovered a way to bypass the BBB when delivering

therapeutic genes or medications, allowing epoch-making changes in

the treatment of brain disorders.

Lee Sang-kyung, assistant professor at Hanyang University's College

of Engineering, said Sunday that the team succeeded in treating

encephalitis in a rat by attaching therapeutic genes to the protein

of a virus that affects the brain and delivering it to brain cells

through an injection into the blood. The results of the team's work,

which was conducted by Professor Lee and professors Premlata Shankar

and Manjunath Swamy of Harvard Medical School, was announced on the

website of science magazine Nature on Sunday.

The researchers, knowing that the rabies virus can directly infect

brain cells, took a protein from the rabies virus and attached a type

of therapeutic gene RNA called siRNA. When the combination of protein

and RNA was injected into a rat that was infected with Japanese

encephalitis, 80 percent of the disease was cured. All the rats

without the injection died.

Professor Lee said, " The RNA combined with the protein of a virus

blocked the operation of the gene that begins the disease by getting

into the blood cells. It is the first case to show that genetic

substances to treat brain diseases can be delivered directly to the

brain from blood vessels. "

Source:

http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200706/200706180011.html