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Updated: Oct 12, 2025

Author Spotlight: A Personalized Approach Towards Investigating Alzheimer's Disease Using an In Vitro Blood-Brain Barrier Model
Published on: October 20, 2023
Modulating the Blood-Brain Barrier: A Comprehensive Review
Rory Whelan1,2, Grainne C Hargaden3, Andrew J S Knox1,2
1School of Biological and Health Sciences, Technological University Dublin, Central Quad, Grangegorman, D07 XT95 Dublin, Ireland.
Abstract:
The highly secure blood-brain barrier (BBB) restricts drug access to the brain, limiting the molecular toolkit for treating central nervous system (CNS) diseases to small, lipophilic drugs. Development of a safe and effective BBB modulator would revolutionise the treatment of CNS diseases and future drug development in the area. Naturally, the field has garnered a great deal of attention, leading to a vast and diverse range of BBB modulators. In this review, we summarise and compare the various classes of BBB modulators developed over the last five decades-their recent advancements, advantages and disadvantages, while providing some insight into their future as BBB modulators.
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