Lipid molecules enable uptake of therapies into the brain after a stroke

To get therapies into the brain after a stroke, researchers are increasingly making use of the blood–brain barrier, which allows only certain molecules to pass from the blood into the brain. In a study published earlier this year in Molecular Therapy, Japanese researchers have found that antisense oligonucleotides-;specialized molecules that can modulate RNA and alter protein production-;are preferentially taken up from the blood into areas of stroke damage when they’re linked to a specific kind of lipid known as α-tocopherol (TOC).

Current stroke therapies are only…