The blood-brain barrier: a help and a hindrance.

The blood-brain barrier (BBB) is a specialized vascular structure that protects the brain microenvironment from toxins and pathogens in the blood. At the same time, the BBB presents a significant challenge for drug development, as it restricts the entry of most therapeutics into the brain. In this review, we first examine recent findings on the molecular and cellular architecture of the BBB, emphasizing the diverse mechanisms that facilitate the transport and exchange of molecules between the blood and the brain.

A quantitative multi-parameter mapping protocol standardized for clinical research in multiple sclerosis.

Quantitative magnetic resonance imaging (qMRI) involves mapping microstructure in standardized units sensitive to histological properties and supplements conventional MRI, which relies on contrast weighted images where intensities have no biophysical meaning. While measuring tissue properties such as myelin, iron or water content is desired in a disease context, qMRI changes may typically reflect mixed influences from aging or pre-clinical degeneration. We used a fast multi-parameter mapping (MPM) protocol for clinical routine at 3T to reconstruct whole-brain quantitative maps of magnetization transfer saturation (MT), proton density (PD), longitudinal (R1), and transverse relaxation rate (R2*) with 1.

Beyond pluripotency: Yamanaka factors drive brain growth and regeneration.

The Yamanaka factors (YFs), a set of four transcription factors, are widely studied for their ability to dedifferentiate somatic cells into a pluripotent state. In a recent study, Shen and colleagues show that transient expression of YFs in the mouse brain expands the developing cortex and prevents cognitive decline in an Alzheimer's disease (AD) model.