The endothelial cells of the cerebral vasculature constitute, together with perivascular elements (astrocytes, pcricytes, basement membrane), the blood-brain barrier (BBB), which strictly limits and specifically controls the exchanges between the blood and the cerebral extracellular spacc.The existence of such a physical, enzymatic, and active barrier isolating the central nervous system has broad physiological, biological, pharmacological, and patho logical consequences, most of which are not yet fully elucidated. The Cerebral Vascular Biology conference (CVB '95) was organized and held at the "Carre des Sciences" in Paris on July I 0-12, 1995. Like the CVB '92 conference held in Duluth, Minnesota, three years ago, the objectives were to provide a forum for presentation of the most recent progresses and to stimulate discussions in the ticld of the biology, physiology. and pathology of the blood-brain barrier. The Paris conference gathered more than !50 participants. including investigators in basic neuroscience, physicians. and stu dents, who actively contributed to the scientific program by their oral or poster presentations. This volume contains a collection of short articles that summarize most of the new data that were presented at the conference. Six thematic parts focus on physiological transports. drug delivery, multidrug resistance P-glycoprotein, signal transduction at the BBB. interactions between the immune system and the cerebral endothelial cells, and the blood-brain barrier-related pathologies in the central nervous system. In addition, two introductory articles present new insights in the rapidly evolving topics of cerebral angiogenesis and gene transfer to the brain.

The blood-brain barrier serves to protect the brain from toxic substances whilst simultaneously allowing access to essential nutrients and chemical signals. At the interface between brain and body, knowledge of the blood-brain barrier forms an essential component in the complete understanding of a large proportion of medical disciplines. Nevertheless, it seems that ignorance of both the biology of this important membrane and the methodology suitable for its investigation still remains an impediment to progress in many fields, including, for example, the development of new and efficacious neuropharmaceuticals, cerebrovascular disease, Alzheimer's disease, cerebral AIDS and brain tumours. This introduction for both researchers and clinicians across the medical sciences is intended to aid both those beginning work directly in this area and those wishing simply to be better informed when interpreting information where the blood-brain barrier may be involved. Advances in both methodology and biology are detailed in 50 chapters from international authorities.

Medicinal chemistry is both science and art. The science of medicinal chemistry offers mankind one of its best hopes for improving the quality of life. The art of medicinal chemistry continues to challenge its practitioners with the need for both intuition and experience to discover new drugs. Hence sharing the experience of drug research is uniquely beneficial to the field of medicinal chemistry. Drug research requires interdisciplinary team-work at the interface between chemistry, biology and medicine. Therefore, the topic-related series Topics in Medicinal Chemistry covers all relevant aspects of drug research, e.g. pathobiochemistry of diseases, identification and validation of (emerging) drug targets, structural biology, drugability of targets, drug design approaches, chemogenomics, synthetic chemistry including combinatorial methods, bioorganic chemistry, natural compounds, high-throughput screening, pharmacological in vitro and in vivo investigations, drug-receptor interactions on the molecular level, structure-activity relationships, drug absorption, distribution, metabolism, elimination, toxicology and pharmacogenomics. In general, special volumes are edited by well known guest editors.

This reference analyzes the cellular and molecular biology and mechanisms of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and presents the most recent studies on the role of the BBB in the development and initiation of a wide range of physiological and pathological conditions affecting the central nervous system.

This detailed volume features techniques to explore the complex interface that separates the systemic circulation from the central nervous system, known as the blood-brain barrier (BBB). Beginning with an introduction to its physiology, the book continues with sections on using pluripotent stem cells in models of the BBB, co-culture, permeability and transwell models, microfluidic and chip models, as well as models to study specific BBB pathologies. Written for the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology series, chapters include introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible laboratory protocols, and tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. Authoritative and practical, The Blood-Brain Barrier: Methods and Protocols collects a wide range of methodologies which will aid all researchers in the fascinating world of the blood-brain barrier.

This volume focuses on experimental research with applicable models to study physiology, biochemistry, and molecular biology of the blood-brain barrier (BBB). This book is organized into six parts: Part One is an overview of the physiology of BBB; Part Two explores in vitro cell models to study the BBB; Part Three discusses techniques in vivo and ex vivo models to evaluate BBB in Drosophila melanogaster, Zebrafish, and rodents; Part Four looks at permeability, influx, efflux transportation, and drug delivery through the BBB; Part Five talks about various invasive and non-invasive imaging techniques to study BBB; and Part Six describes how molecular biomarkers are used to look at the integrity or dysfunction of the BBB. In Neuromethods series style, chapters include the kind of detail and key advice from the specialists needed to get successful results in your laboratory. Cutting-edge and thorough, Blood-Brain Barrier is a valuable resource to aid both novice and experienced investigators with performing experiments using new and classic translational approaches.