Reaching the Brain Through the Groin: A Novel Approach to Brain Cancer

Blog summary: “From the groin to the brain: a transfemoral path to blood-brain barrier opening.” ___________________________________________ Just a small number of molecules, including alcohol and caffeine, are able to cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB). The BBB is a highly selective semipermeable membrane that separates circulating blood from extracellular fluid in the brain. It plays a critical role in protecting the brain from harmful substances in the blood while also maintaining a stable and consistent environment for neuronal function. Without the BBB, humans would be at the mercy of any harmful toxin, pathogen and unwanted substance that could cross from the bloodstream into the brain. This protective function also makes it difficult to deliver therapeutic agents to the brain, as the majority of drugs and other molecules are unable to cross the BBB. This is particularly problematic for the treatment of brain-localized diseases, including brain cancers and neurological disorders, which require high concentrations of drugs to effectively target sites in the brain. In a new editorial paper, researchers Thomas C. Chen, Weijun Wang and Axel H. Schönthal from the University of Southern California‘s Keck School of Medicine discuss a series of preclinical studies that introduced the novel concept of intraarterial (IA) injection of NEO100—a promising strategy aimed at temporarily and safely opening the BBB up for therapeutic treatment. Their editorial was published in Oncotarget’s Volume 14 on May 4, 2023, entitled, “From the groin to the brain: a transfemoral path to blood-brain barrier opening.” “It is believed that procedures to open the BBB in a controlled and safe fashion might provide tremendous advantages by allowing optimal brain entry of any and all circulating therapeutics.” Full blog - https://www.oncotarget.org/2023/05/11/reaching-the-brain-through-the-groin-a-novel-approach-to-brain-cancer/ Paper DOI - https://doi.org/10.18632/oncotarget.28414 Correspondence to - Thomas C. Chen - thomas.chen@med.usc.edu, and Axel H. Schönthal - schontha@usc.edu Sign up for free Altmetric alerts about this article - https://oncotarget.altmetric.com/details/email_updates?id=10.18632%2Foncotarget.28414 Subscribe for free publication alerts from Oncotarget - https://www.oncotarget.com/subscribe/ Keywords - brain metastases, glioma, NEO100, perillyl alcohol, transfemoral cannulation About Oncotarget Oncotarget is a primarily oncology-focused, peer-reviewed, open access journal. Papers are published continuously within yearly volumes in their final and complete form, and then quickly released to Pubmed. On September 15, 2022, Oncotarget was accepted again for indexing by MEDLINE. Oncotarget is now indexed by Medline/PubMed and PMC/PubMed. To learn more about Oncotarget, please visit https://www.oncotarget.com and connect with us: SoundCloud - https://soundcloud.com/oncotarget Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/Oncotarget/ Twitter - https://twitter.com/oncotarget Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/oncotargetjrnl/ YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@OncotargetJournal LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/oncotarget Pinterest - https://www.pinterest.com/oncotarget/ Reddit - https://www.reddit.com/user/Oncotarget/ Media Contact MEDIA@IMPACTJOURNALS.COM 18009220957