BALTIMORE—Stimulation of the sphenopalatine ganglion (SPG) may be a safe and effective method of
temporarily disrupting the blood–brain barrier to deliver
therapeutics to the brain. In an animal model of stroke,
SPG stimulation enhances the delivery of mesenchymal
stem cells and improves functional outcomes, according
to research presented at the 141st Annual Meeting of the
American Neurological Association. The technique does
not entail unwanted systemic effects and potentially could
be applied in the treatment of other neurologic disorders.
Although it would be undesirable to deliver bone-
marrow stem cells to the human brain, SPG stimula-
tion could aid the delivery of neural stem cells, viral
vectors, antibody infusions, and gene therapies, said
Lorraine Iacovitti, PhD, Director of the Jefferson Stem
Cell and Regenerative Neuroscience Center at Thomas
Jefferson University in Philadelphia. She and her col-
leagues plan to investigate the mechanisms responsible
for the response to SPG stimulation. In addition, they
will examine various stimulation frequencies and deter-
mine the size of therapies that can be delivered to the brain.
Disruption of the Blood–Brain Barrier
Modifying the blood–brain barrier has been a long-standing goal of medicine. Achieving this goal would
“improve treatments for many neurologic diseases and
disorders, particularly if you could combine it with a
December 2016
Volume 24, Number 12
SPG Stimulation May Enhance
Delivery of Drugs to the Brain
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PINK1 Mutation Raises Risk of
12 Early-Onset Parkinson’s Disease
Are Medications Effective
16 Against Pediatric Migraine?
Trials of Drugs for Alzheimer’s
21 Disease Near Completion
Higher Latitude Associated
32 With Early Age of MS Onset
DBS Improves Motor Function
38 in Parkinson’s Disease
Models Fail to Predict
40 Posttraumatic Seizures
The Rate of Generalized Tonic-
48 Clonic Seizures in Children
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