Bees' poison component can help improving drugs that treat brain diseases
A molecule, in particular a peptide designed out of beeʼs poison, can become an important contribution to increase the efficiency of drugs treating the central nervous system. The research by Benjamí Oller Salvia consisted on the creation of this “vehicle” or “molecule shuttle” made out of a neurotoxin, and which is able to cross the blood-brain barrier to bring drugs to the brain.
A molecule, in particular a peptide designed out of beeʼs poison, can become an important contribution to increase the efficiency of drugs treating the central nervous system. The research by Benjamí Oller Salvia consisted on the creation of this “vehicle” or “molecule shuttle” made out of a neurotoxin, and which is able to cross the blood-brain barrier to bring drugs to the brain.
A cell barrier controls the flow of substances from blood to the brain; it is a strict control to avoid external agents and infections. This protective function, however, is also an unreachable choice for most drugs aimed to treat brain diseases, from cancers to minority diseases. There is a research line of IRB Barcelona dedicated to shuttle peptides to cross this barrier, to which Doctor Oller Salvia's doctoral thesis belongs. His thesis is supervised by Professor Ernest Giralt from the Faculty of Chemistry of the UB and Doctor Meritzell Teixidó.