6 day International School on Blood Brain Barrier begins at PU

Chandigarh, November 4, 2019: An International Brain Research Organization (IBRO) -Asia Pacific Regional Committee (APRC) supported school on the theme ‘Blood-Brain-Barrier: From Basic Physiology to Neurological Disorders” from November 4 to 9, 2019 was inaugurated by Prof.Arvind Rajwanshi, Officiating Director & Dean Academics, PGIMER, Chandigarh. He stressed on the importance of Blood Brain barrier (BBB) in clinical practice and said that although BBB is to provide protection to the brain at the same time and it also throws challenge to physicians in treating neurological conditions as the drugs do not penetrate brain. He appreciated the efforts of current IBRO School in covering all aspects related to understanding and functioning of BBB that a researcher needs for better understanding of CNS barriers. Furthermore, he said that participants from the school can benefit and take research in this area further. The six-day school aims to provide newer understanding, strategies and delivery of therapeutic molecules to the brain. Prof. Shilpa Buch, Vice Chair for Research Director, NE Center for Substance Abuse Research Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Neuroscience, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE. She talked about how drug abuse are changing the outcomes of HIV-AIDS induced dementia as she shared that HIV and drug abuse are comorbid conditions and shared that drugs like cocaine and morphine aggravate the cognitive impairment in the HIV infected patients. She also highlighted the importance of exosomes in diagnosis and therapeutics for HIV-AIDS. The school plans to provide theoretical and practical training on wide ranging topics related to role of in normal functions of nervous system and alterations in disease to young researchers from Asia-Pacific region and representing Iran, Nepal, Malaysia, Taiwan and different parts of India. The faculty for the school includes eminent scientists in the field drawn from various parts of the globe. The school would bring together experts from industry and academia to brainstorm ideas and share new research ideas on topics such as the BBB at sites of pathology, preclinical models, tools and strategies for understanding and prediction of brain penetration, and imaging in BBB studies. The school will also feature case studies and updates from the industry on topics such as drug delivery and vector-mediated transport across BBB. Prof. Rajat Sandhir, organizer of the event has been investigating the role of alterations in permeability to brain in the neurological conditions for more years. In addition, his team also focuses on delivery of therapeutic molecules to the brain.