title: [Implication of the blood-brain barrier in neurological diseases: part II].
abstract: The main characteristic of the blood-brain-barrier (BBB) is its extremely low permeability, due to tight intercellular endothelial junctions and a variety of transporters, which provides the brain with a unique protection against the potential toxicity of several xenobiotics, but also constitutes a major limitation to drug delivery to the central nervous system. Several dysfunctions of the BBB have been recently implicated in the pathophysiology of neurological diseases: inflammatory, vascular, tumoral, infectious and neurodegenerative diseases. Based on a better knowledge of the BBB biology, new therapeutic strategies are emerging, which by-pass the BBB or take advantage of the selective expression of membrane proteins by brain endothelial cells or circulating leucocytes to target new drugs, such as the anti-VLA4 antibody recently approved for multiple sclerosis treatment. This review will focus on the recently described BBB dysfunctions presumably involved in various neurological diseases.
authors.affiliation: CNRS (UMR 8104), Institut Cochin, université Paris-Descartes, 22, rue Méchain, 75014 Paris, France.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Weiss
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cazaubon
authors.forename: P-O
authors.initials: PO
authors.lastname: Couraud
mesh_terms: D001812:Blood-Brain Barrier / Q000502:physiology*; D002545:Brain Ischemia / Q000503:physiopathology; D001932:Brain Neoplasms / Q000097:blood / Q000503:physiopathology; D002463:Cell Membrane Permeability; D004058:Diffusion; D004730:Endothelium, Vascular / Q000503:physiopathology; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000097:blood / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000097:blood / Q000503:physiopathology; D009410:Nerve Degeneration / Q000097:blood / Q000503:physiopathology; D009422:Nervous System Diseases / Q000097:blood / Q000503:physiopathology*; D020521:Stroke / Q000503:physiopathology