Simulating the blood-brain barrier in vitro to stop stroke drug side effects

Animation for video

Dr Be'eri Niego and Professor Medcalf published an article in 2013 on a method for simulating the blood brain barrier (BBB), in particular to see how to prevent stroke drug side effects. They describe an improved technique for preparation of a contact BBB model, which permits coculturing of human astrocytes and brain endothelial cells on the opposite sides of a porous membrane. It has an associated video prepared by the Journal of Visualised Experiments (JoVE), interviewing the authors and showing the techniques - hands-on scientific research. Note: only subscribers can view the video. Article link:  http://ow.ly/uzEX0