A Nanomedicine Transports a Peptide Caspase-3 Inhibitor across the Blood–Brain Barrier and Provides Neuroprotection

The Journal of Neuroscience, November 4, 2009, 29(44):13761-13769; doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.4246-09.2009

Hulya Karatas,1 Yesim Aktas,2 Yasemin Gursoy-Ozdemir,1 Ebru Bodur,3 Muge Yemisci,1 Secil Caban,2 Atay Vural,1 Onur Pinarbasli,2 Yilmaz Capan,2 Eduardo Fernandez-Megia,4 Ramon Novoa-Carballal,4 Ricardo Riguera,4 Karine Andrieux,5 Patrick Couvreur,5 and Turgay Dalkara1

1Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine and Institute of Neurological Sciences and Psychiatry, 2Department of Pharmaceutical Technology, Faculty of Pharmacy, and 3Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Hacettepe University, 06100 Ankara, Turkey, 4Departamento de Química Orgánica, Facultad de Química, and Unidad de Resonancia Magnética Nuclear de Biomoléculas Asociada al Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, 15782 Santiago de Compostela, Spain, and 5Physico-Chimie, Pharmacotechnie, Biopharmacie, Faculté de Pharmacie, Université Paris Sud, UMR Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique 8612, 92296 Chatenay Malabry, France

Keywords:  cross the blood–brain barrier (BBB), nanocarrier system,chitosan nanospheres, caspase-3 inhibitor, Polyethylene glycol-coated nanospheres, intravenously injected,  neuroprotection, efficient penetration, brain delivery,  treatment of CNS disorders.

On Your Last Nerve: Researchers Advance Understanding of Stem Cells

ScienceDaily (Nov. 17, 2009) — Researchers from North Carolina State University have identified a gene that tells embryonic stem cells in the brain when to stop producing nerve cells called neurons. The research is a significant advance in understanding the development of the nervous system, which is essential to addressing conditions such as Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease and other neurological disorders.

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