A recent report
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/q..._uids=17503739
states,

"Though the BBB is thought to be intact during neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's (AD) and Parkinson's disease (PD), recent evidence argues otherwise."
The report goes on to say,
" Dysfunction of the BBB may be involved in disease progression,..........
Developing a better appreciation of BBB dysfunction in AD and PD may not only provide novel strategies in treatment, but will prove an interesting milestone in understanding neurodegenerative disease etiology and progression."

I have found many other references that indicate PD is associted with a defective BBB, but my PC is giving problems, and won't allow me to save them. Try doing a search on defective or leaky BBB and PD.
There is all the evidence I previously posted, Prof Leender's work showing PWP all have a defective BBB, all the most popular beneficial supplements such as curcumin, alpha lipoic acid etc all tighten down the BBB, whilst stress, known toxic compounds, old age, etc all open the BBB
It would be very interesting to try and find a way to reduce the permeability of our BBB to that of a normal person.
Ron

Thought I'd post it in light of your PC problems. Maybe it is resenting your not taking it to Crete.

1: Eur J Pharmacol. 2007 Apr 30;561(1-3):54-62. Epub 2007 Jan 19.

Neuroprotective effect of curcumin on focal cerebral ischemic rats by preventing
blood-brain barrier damage.

Jiang J, Wang W, Sun YJ, Hu M, Li F, Zhu DY.

Department of Pharmacology, School of Pharmacy, Nanjing Medical University,
Nanjing, 210029, China.

Curcumin, a member of the curcuminoid family of compounds, is a yellow colored
phenolic pigment obtained from powdered rhizome of C. longa Linn. Recent studies
have demonstrated that curcumin has protective effects against cerebral
ischemia/reperfusion injury. However, little is known about its mechanism.
Disruption of the blood-brain barrier occurs after stroke. Protection of the
blood-brain barrier has become an important target of stroke interventions in
experimental therapeutic. The objective of the present study was to determine
whether curcumin prevents cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury by protecting
blood-brain barrier integrity. We report that a single injection of curcumin (1
and 2 mg/kg, i.v.) 30 min after focal cerebral ischemia/reperfusion in rats
significantly diminished infarct volume, improved neurological deficit,
decreased mortality, reduced the water content of the brain and the
extravasation of Evans blue dye in ipsilateral hemisphere in a dose-dependent
manner. In cultured astrocytes, curcumin significantly inhibited inducible
nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) expression and NO(x) (Nitrites/nitrates contents)
production induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS)/tumor necrosis factor alpha
(TNF(alpha)). Furthermore, curcumin prevented ONOO(-) donor SIN-1-induced
cerebral capillaries endothelial cells damage. We concluded that curcumin
ameliorates cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury by preventing ONOO(-) mediated
blood-brain barrier damage.

PMID: 17303117 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

BRNI patents new method for crossing blood-brain barrier

Patent issued today (May 22) for new drug delivery system
http://wvutoday.wvu.edu/news/page/5766/

Researchers at the Blanchette Rockefeller Neurosciences Institute (BRNI) announced today that they have patented a new way of transporting medicine that may be able to safely cross the blood-brain barrier. The blood-brain barrier is a group of cells that line the brain’s blood vessels, protecting vital brain structures from foreign substances. The barrier has posed enormous difficulties for researchers who want to deliver therapeutic drugs to the brain to treat tumors, infections and degenerative brain diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

The new method takes advantage of a process called transcytosis, which a cell normally uses to transport necessary molecules, such as cholesterol, into the brain. In early tests, BRNI scientists were able to use the new way to deliver a variety of test substances into the brains of rats with no ill effects. Researchers are hopeful that this will some day be helpful to patients, according to Daniel Alkon, M.D., scientific director of BRNI.

“This may lead to a powerful new tool that clinicians can use to treat brain diseases,” Dr. Alkon said. “The blood-brain barrier provides effective protection to the brain against circulating toxins, bacteria and other harmful substances. But we need to have an effective means of delivering drugs across the barrier if we are going to offer patients better treatment options.”The new method patented by BRNI is based primarily of low-density lipoproteins (LDLs), a class of molecules that naturally occur in the blood. To help the LDL particles reach their target, BRNI researchers have coated the particles with a natural protein known as apolipoprotein E, which helps direct the particles to receptors on the blood-brain barrier cells. These receptors then assist the particle, which can contain any drug in its central lipid core, across the barrier into the brain.

According to Alkon, previous attempts to develop carriers relied on viruses and artificial polymers, which could penetrate the barrier, but posed high levels of risk. Earlier carriers, like liposomes, were unstable, or tended to rid their cargo in unwanted places – like the liver or blood vessel linings. BRNI’s system prevents lipoproteins from abandoning their cargo until reaching the target destination, ensuring that the particles are stable in the bloodstream. U.S. patent number 7,220,833, “Artificial Low-Density Lipoprotein Carriers for Transport of Substances Across the Blood-Brain Barrier,” was issued to BRNI for this development today, May 22.

BRNI is a non-profit research institute dedicated to study of human memory. Its primary mission is to accelerate neurological discoveries from the lab, including diagnostic tools and treatments, directly to patients who are suffering from neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s. U.S. Senator Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia founded the institute in memory of his mother, who died of Alzheimer's disease. A new, $30 million BRNI facility is under construction at West Virginia University.