Neurotrophic delivery in Alzheimer’s-model mice

Background/introduction Alzheimer’s disease (AD), which has emerged as one of the most common brain disorders, begins in the hippocampal formation and gradually spreads to the remaining brain at its most advanced stages, and is characterized partly by deposition of amyloid plaques in the brain tissue but also in the blood vessels themselves. Our studies have dealt with both the delivery of neurotrophic factors through the FUS-induced blood-brain barrier (BBB) opening to the hippocampus in both the presence and absence of disease in AD mouse models. The Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) is widely and abundantly expressed in the CNS and is available to some peripheral nervous system neurons that uptake the neurotrophin produced by peripheral tissues. BDNF can modulate neuronal synaptic strength and has been implicated in hippocampal mechanisms of learning and memory. As BDNF has been proven to serve as a neuroprotective agent, delivery of exogenous BDNF is a good candidate for therapeutic treatment of several CNS disorders.