Uploaded April 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
How does Alzheimer’s break the brain’s protective shield — and can we fix it?
Peter Searson and his team are digging into that question by studying the blood–brain barrier, the brain’s high-security checkpoint that controls what gets in and out. The blood-brain barrier could be thought of as a finely tuned filter that keeps nutrients flowing in and dangerous stuff out — essential for keeping the brain’s chemistry stable and neurons firing correctly. When diseases like Alzheimer’s, stroke, aging, or infection disrupt that barrier, the brain’s delicate balance is thrown off.
Searson, a core researcher in the Institute for NanoBioTechnology and a professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, is using stem-cell technology to incorporate human cells into replicas of the small blood vessels in the brain. Searson's lab grows realistic replicas of the blood-brain barrier to watch how it responds to chemical, physical, and biological stress. These human-model systems — supported primarily by the National Institutes of Health — let researchers explore exactly how neurodegenerative disease and other insults alter barrier function, opening new pathways for diagnosis and treatment.
Why this matters: Understanding and repairing blood-brain barrier breakdown could lead to better therapies for Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, brain injuries, and infectious brain diseases — and help scientists design ways to get medicines into the brain safely.
For more: https://hub.jhu.edu/2026/04/16/blood-brain-barrier-alzheimers-disease/
How does Alzheimer’s break the brain’s protective shield — and can we fix it?
Peter Searson and his team are digging into that question by studying the blood–brain barrier, the brain’s high-security checkpoint that controls what gets in and out. The blood-brain barrier could be thought of as a finely tuned filter that keeps nutrients flowing in and dangerous stuff out — essential for keeping the brain’s chemistry stable and neurons firing correctly. When diseases like Alzheimer’s, stroke, aging, or infection disrupt that barrier, the brain’s delicate balance is thrown off.
Searson, a core researcher in the Institute for NanoBioTechnology and a professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, is using stem-cell technology to incorporate human cells into replicas of the small blood vessels in the brain. Searson's lab grows realistic replicas of the blood-brain barrier to watch how it responds to chemical, physical, and biological stress. These human-model systems — supported primarily by the National Institutes of Health — let researchers explore exactly how neurodegenerative disease and other insults alter barrier function, opening new pathways for diagnosis and treatment.
Why this matters: Understanding and repairing blood-brain barrier breakdown could lead to better therapies for Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, brain injuries, and infectious brain diseases — and help scientists design ways to get medicines into the brain safely.
For more: https://hub.jhu.edu/2026/04/16/blood-brain-barrier-alzheimers-disease/
