A CUNNING way of sneaking genes into the brain should make it easier to give
people gene therapies for diseases such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s.
The brain is protected from potentially dangerous substances in the blood by
the tight junctions between capillary cells. Only recognised molecules are
allowed in, so to get genes into the brain, researchers either have to inject
them through holes drilled into the skull or give them intravenously along with
drugs that disrupt the blood-brain barrier.
Now William Pardridge and Ningya Shi at the University of California School
of Medicine in Los Angeles have found a…
