Scientists discover microscopic way to deliver drugs to stroke patients

A new way of delivering drugs to the brain could offer hope to patients in the early stages of a stroke.

Scientists at The University of Manchester discovered that swarms of nanoparticles which are 15,000 times smaller than a pinhead could be used to deliver drugs to the brain.

The team found that tiny vesicles called liposomes, just 100 nanometres in diameter, can break through the brain’s damaged blood barrier following a stroke.

The brain’s tightly packed network of blood vessels and barriers act as its own security system, allowing the entry of essential nutrients and blocking potentially harmful substances. Unfortunately, the barrier also blocks drugs, making neurological conditions like stroke especially difficult to treat.

Scientists at The University of Manchester hope their new research can prove otherwise. The team generated microscopic pictures of the brain using imaging techniques to discover that the nanomaterial is a viable transporter for delivering drugs through the brain’s blood barrier.

The research, carried out on mice, shows that liposomes are able to penetrate the brain by being transported across the tightly packed endothelial cells by using pouch-like structures known as caveolae.

What it means is that doctors may one day be able to protect brain tissue in the acute phases of a stroke by delivering drugs that can protect brain’s neurons from further injury.

To help repair neurons, the researchers also demonstrated that liposomes can be delivered to the brain in the days following a stroke after cells have died.

Stuart Allan professor of Neuroscience from The University of Manchester said: “The discovery that nanomaterials may be able to facilitate the treatment of stroke is exciting: scientists have long been grappling with the difficulties of treating brain injuries and diseases.”

“The brain blood barrier is a major frontier in neurology, so the prospect of being able to cross it may have applications to other conditions as well – though clearly, much more work needs to be done.”

Dr Zahraa Al-Ahmady, honorary research Fellow at The University of Manchester and a senior lecturer at Nottingham Trent University, said: “Liposomes are a tried and tested method of delivering drugs to the body – and are currently used to treat patients, for example, to target cancer drugs into the tumour at high doses which increase their concentration relative to other parts of the body. “

“They are easy to manufacture and used across the NHS. But our research shows that Liposomes have important implications for neurologists too.”